Question Number: 22869

Law 8 - Start and Restart of Play 2/25/2010

RE: rec Under 13

David Smythe of Pomona, CA USA asks...

During a drop ball restart in a recent game, the blue player swung and kicked the leg of the red player before the ball hit the ground (despite clear instructions) - and as ref, I believe there was intent (i.e. no real attempt to hit the ball, but a willingness to hit the other player). Aside from discipline, what was the correct restart - the ball did hit the ground before being kicked but the foul was committed before the ball was in play, though the whistle was blown after the ball was in play?

Answer provided by Referee Gary Voshol

You said, 'the foul was committed before the ball was in play ...' But no, it wasn't. Since the ball was not in play, it was not a foul. It was misconduct.

Deal with the misconduct, and then since it occurred while the ball was out of play, you go to the original restart which was defined by the stoppage - the dropped ball.

Are you absolutely sure the ball had not yet touched the ground before the player was kicked? Because if the ball had touched the ground, then play would have restarted, and the kick would be a foul with a direct free kick restart, in addition to the misconduct.

Answer provided by Referee Michelle Maloney

Remember - in order to have a foul, the ball must be in play, on the field and the incident must have occurred between opponents, not teammates.

What you described is either a simple accident, about which you needed to do nothing but perhaps speak to the player at the next opportunity, and allow play to continue, or it was done on purpose, which makes it reckless behavior and thus a caution. But the ball wasn't in play yet, so the restart is just a re-drop of the ball, after issuing the caution.

I suppose it could be violent conduct, but I very much doubt it. Even so, if the referee judged it to be VC, then send off the player, and restart with the dropped ball.

Answer provided by Referee Gene Nagy

David, the referee is dealing with a misconduct that happened before the ball was in play. That is why he blew the whistle. True enough the whistle went after the ball hit the ground but the call was for something prior to the ball being in play. You would have to be a freak of nature to be able to see the misconduct and blow the whistle before the bal hits the ground. The 0.0010 second time span is quite a short period of time. Restart is a drop ball.

Answer provided by Referee Joe McHugh

Hi Referee Smythe
Play stops and starts when the referee decides. The whistle is only the signal for that. So in this case the referee has decided between the kick and the ball hitting the ground that he is not allowing play to restart. You mention that the players did not touch the ball before it hit the ground. The ball has to be dropped again if it is touched by a player before it makes contact with the ground. As the misconduct offence happened before the ball was in play in any event, the correct restart is a dropped ball after the referee has dealt with the required disciplinary action of either a caution or a dismissal as he deems appropriate.