Question Number: 24757

Law 17 - Corner Kick 4/2/2011

RE: Intermediate Under 12

Phil of Tarzana, CA United States asks...

This question is a follow up to question 24743

I have some questions on what is allowed on a corner kick.

1) Referee Keith Contarino said that 'The referee should intervene before the kick is taken and either warn verbally or show the defender a yellow card.' Since all the referees have said a player can stand wherever they choose, does yellow carding refer to 'shadowing the keeper' before the kick is taken? i.e. if the attacker moves to block the GK view or movement BEFORE the kick is taken? Or is an attacker allowed to move wherever they choose before the kick is taken?

2) If an attacker, who is standing in front of the GK, moves toward the spot where the ball will drop (after the kick is taken) & this also blocks the GK, is this impeding? Wouldn't the attacking player have as much right to go for the ball as the GK?

Thanks again for all the wonderful advice.

Answer provided by Referee Joe McHugh

Hi Phil
What happens now increasingly at corner kicks and attacking free kicks is the illegal use of hands/arms inside the penalty area. Referees should be pro-active prior to the taking of corner kicks / attacking free kicks near goal and should be clearly seen to be taking preventative action.
Referees should deal very firmly with any illegal use of the arms / hands. If this happens before the ball is in play, disciplinary sanctions should be administered. However, in clear cases of holding / pushing after the ball is in play referees are expected to award a penalty kick (for an offence by a defender) or a free kick (for an offence by an attacker) in addition to possible further disciplinary sanctions.
In relation to the 2nd part of your question the attacker is clearly allowed to move towards the ball and this will not be seen as impeding the goalkeeper or any other opponent. The illegal impeding will include situations where the attacker makes no attempt to play the ball but blocks the path of an opponent to the ball by simply stepping into his path.

Answer provided by Referee Keith Contarino

Hi Phil. While it's true that a player may STAND anywhere he wants, he may not follow the keeper and prevent him from seeing or going towards the ball. I found out the hard way early on that not dealing with this BEFORE the corner kick was taken would rachet up the level of tension dramatically. Keepers expect the referee to intervene, at least verbally, and if the referee doesn't, sooner or later violence will ensue