Question Number: 24260

Law 11 - Offside 11/1/2010

RE: County League Adult

Richard of London, London United Kingdom asks...

In an attempt to run down the clock can the goalkeeper continuously throw the ball to one of his players just to head it back into his hands.

I've asked many refs the same question, some say they'd let it happen and others not.

Thank you.

Answer provided by Referee Joe McHugh

Hi Richard
If a referee is asked is it okay for a team mate to head the ball to a goalkeeper in open play then the answer is that it is perfectable acceptable and it is not an offence. If however it is done in such a way as to circumvent Law 12 then it is most defintely an offence. Any effort to circumvent or get around Law 12 is an offence and it is punished by a caution and an IDFK.
To quote the relevant Law
'' There are different circumstances when a player must be cautioned for unsporting behaviour, e.g. if a player uses a deliberate trick while the ball is in play to pass the ball to his own goalkeeper with his head, chest, knee, etc. in order to circumvent the Law, irrespective of whether the goalkeeper touches the ball with his hands or not. The offence is committed by the player in attempting to circumvent both the letter and the spirit of Law 12 and play is restarted with an indirect free kick''
In this situation the goalkeeper would be cautioned as he initiated the circumvention of Law 12.

Answer provided by Referee Dennis Wickham

We may be proving your point that not all referees agree.

Heading the ball back to the keeper is IMO part of the match, and not the use of a deliberate trick. Moreover, the likelihood that the keeper and defender could do this more than once (yet alone 'continuously') without drawing an opponent seems to me to be nil. Once the ball leaves the keeper's hands, it's open for any opponent to intercept and score. Which, I believe is why we don't see this tactic on the field of play.

Answer provided by Referee Gary Voshol

Players are free to use up time as long as the method used allows the opponents a fair chance to challenge for the ball. This may be why you get different answers from different refs - they are interpreting the scenario differently.

For example, if the keeper and teammate are only inches apart, there is little that the opponent can legally do to interrupt the scheme. If they are several yards apart, the opponent has a chance - maybe not a good one, but a chance - to jump up and intercept the headed ball to the keeper. Or a fair charge with non-excessive force could disturb the teammate and send the headed ball off-target.

As Ref Wickham notes, because a fair opportunity allows the opponents a means if stopping the ploy, it isn't much seen. Like the trick corner kick play, it only works once with a reasonably attentive opponent.

Should the teammates be colluding together illegally, it would be classified as unsporting behavior. The referee would choose one of the players to caution. As it is not a foul, the restart would be an indirect free kick for the misconduct.

Answer provided by Referee Gene Nagy

Richard, to answer you question I don't think the ball can be continuously thrown to a teammate and be caught by the keeper but not because it is illegal. If a goalie starts this process it will not be long before a challenge comes in to intercept the thrown ball.
There is an element of circumventing the Laws and that is why some referees might interpret this as illegal but there is nothing specific in the Laws that forbid this play. I think in practice this play would sort itself out very quickly without referee interference. Don't forget, they are just playing 'games'! The whole thing is a game!

Answer provided by Referee Michelle Maloney

Where is the other team when this is going on? Are they so beaten down they quit playing? Are these guys showing off or just being foolish?

The Laws do not allow us to punish teams for wasting time, but they do allow us to add that time back into the game for the benefit of the injured team - as much as we referees feel was wasted. Ah, and the referee will certainly let the other team know time is not being run off the clock after all. Kinda takes all the fun out of the game, doesn't it?

If these guys are just showing off, or rubbing it in, the referee can step in and award an IDFK for misconduct - unsporting behavior for taunting or bringing the game into disrepute. Most referees would pointedly ask them to knock it off first, which should produce decent results.

It is hard to believe these guys could carry this on for more than a head and pass or two without intervention by the other team. As soon as the defender is covered, the keeper can either throw it back to him and risk having it taken by the opponent, or he has six seconds to do something more productive with the ball.

Hopefully, the referee not adding to the spectacle, but calmly managing it.