Question Number: 26406

Law 8 - Start and Restart of Play 6/1/2012

RE: Rec, Select, NFHS High School

Joe Griego of Bishop, CA USA asks...

So I saw this on Reddit yesterday, and wanted to hear the referees' respective take:

'Not this particular thing but I have once came across another smart-ass who thought he could bend the rules:
The situation was as follows:

A player from the defending team got hurt but there was no foul. So after I let him get treated the game continues with a dropped ball. This happened very close to the goal however.

Now tradition says that the attacking team returns the ball to the defense or to the goalie as a gesture of fair play, however THIS IS NOT A MANDATORY RULE. It's very important to know that it is only considered a gesture of fair play and not actually mandatory.

So the attacker went and took his position while the defense got out of the way, again while this is not mandatory that is how 99% of all dropped balls are handled and the attacker made no gesture that he would do things differently.

This particular attacker however didn't believe in fair play and just flat-out kicked the ball in the goal as hard as he could... Again 'technically' you are allowed to do that.
However I decided that this counted as misconduct and didn't accept the goal, I also gave him a yellow card. If he wanted to play instead of returning the ball he should have made his intentions clear and not wait until the defense got out of his way. His coach did not object to my decision and had the decency to look ashamed for his player's actions.

EDIT: there seems to some confusion about the legality of my decision.

I am allowed to make judgments calls about unfair play, if I deem an action a sign of misconduct I am allowed to give a yellow card and stop the flow of game.
That is what happens: when the player disregarded the common fair play agreement, I made a judgment call that he played unfair. So I paused the game (thus nullifying the goal) and gave him a card.
I did not do anything illegal as a referee.
quote from the rulebook:
In addition, a player is cautioned and shown a yellow card for 'unsporting behaviour' which, according to US Soccer, includes the following:
...
Commits an act which, in the opinion of the referee, shows a lack of respect for the game'

My opinion is that you cannot disallow the goal, but you can certainly sanction for misconduct prior to the restart (in this case, a kick-off).

What say you?

Answer provided by Referee Joe McHugh

Hi Joe
As from the 1st July 2012 the referee in a USSF sanctioned game will disallow the goal and restart with a goal kick. The new text reads Law 8 Dropped Ball
'' If the ball enters the goal:
# if a dropped ball is kicked directly into the opponents' goal, a goal kick is awarded
# if a dropped ball is kicked directly into the teams' own goal, a corner kick is awarded to the opposing team''
So thankfully the matter does not arise in Law from the 1st July onwards
As regards the present position it reads to me that the player did not gesture or inform the referee, players that he was going to kick the ball back to the opponents so the fault IMO lies with the opponents for assuming so. As a referee I am always very conscious of what will happen on a Fair Play restart should the player decide to act in an unexpected way or indeed a pure mistake such as an over kick or a mistake by the goalkeeper. The correct decision in law is to award the goal.
Now the reason IFAB has made the Law change is because these type of situations have caused many problems for referees resulting in melees, unpleasantness etc with teams then allowing uncontested goals to even the score. These situations usually result in perhaps dismissals and certainly cautions.
In this game the referee made a decision that probably was the 'best' decision for the game whether it was supported in Law / Rules or not.
Now if this was a NFHS game as there is mention of a Rule there may be a twist to this as on a dropped ball there must be two opposing players present as per Rule 9. So the correct procedure was not followed which is perhaps the out clause here in a NFHS game. Also if the player said he was going to kick the ball back and he did not then he could also be deemed to have used 'deliberate verbal tactics' as per Rule 12 which is unsporting behaviour. Whether NFHS follows FIFA with a Rule change I'm not sure. If they don't then NFHS referees should insist on the two players contesting the dropped ball.

Answer provided by Referee Keith Contarino

As you point out, returning the ball to the opponents at a dropped ball is not mandatory. In fact, in some places it's unheard of. So the player did nothing against the LOTG. There is a difference between what YOU find distasteful and what is actually unsporting behavior.

The goal counts. No yellow card.

Why on earth did the defense decide not to participate at the dropped ball? You as a referee cannot make anyone participate. Nor may you refuse anyone that wishes to participate.
You may, however, quickly drop the ball to the keeper and still be within Law. Of course if you do this you're going to expect the keeper to hold the ball until the opponents have backed up. If the keeper decides to punt it immediately, there's nothing you can do about that either.

Best if everyone follows the Laws and not try to influence fairness in other ways as you will soon be faced with the exact situations described

Answer provided by Referee Dennis Wickham

This illustrates why the laws have just been changed. In the future, the restart would be a goal kick since a player cannot score on a dropped ball until the ball touches a second player. But, under the current laws, the goal stands. The referee's actions, while understandable, were not correct.

Outside of NFHS, the better practice for the referee for a dropped ball inside the penalty area is to drop the ball where the goalkeeper can pick it up! There is no reason for dropping it near an attacker. NFHS rules are different in that they require the ball be dropped between two opponents. (I've bent the NFHS rule in this circumstances to drop the ball 'between' the goal keeper 6 inches away and the opponent sportingly standing 10 yards away.)



UPDATE: USSF has interpreted "directly" to mean first touch by the player. The ball does not have to touch another player on a dropped ball to be a valid goal.