Question Number: 26853

Law 8 - Start and Restart of Play 9/28/2012

RE: Other

jean guy of anjou, Quebec asks...

http://sports.yahoo.com/blogs/soccer-dirty-tackle/serbian-player-scores-first-kick-youth-match-002140493--sow.html

This goal has been talked about all week.

The kick itself is legal but many people claim that the teammate was on the other side of the field and the goal shouldnt have been good.


Can you clarify please?

thanks.

Answer provided by Referee Joe McHugh

Hi Jean
A goal can be scored directly from the kick off so the goal was valid. Some commentators have suggested that because a team mate was standing in the opponents half that the goal was in fact illegal due to that infraction?
If you look at the video closely the team mate moves and he has his foot on the half way line at the time of the kick and IMO if there is an infringement of Law 8 for that reason it is at worst trifling with no effect on the play. Also White had a player encroach before the kick so if a referee was being very picky one could argue that a retake was the correct call in Law.
Personally I would award the goal as there is nothing particularly unfair about the restart. Many kick offs have a player with a foot in the opponents half before the kick which is never called as it is seen as trifling so why should it be called here.

Answer provided by Referee Jason Wright

This video is a brilliant example of how a referee can cause problems for himself by not doing the right thing. I'm sure many of us have been guilty of allowing an player to stand in the opposite half of the field to receive the first pass at a kickoff then knocks it back (particularly at lower levels when we may not want to see overly officious) - but really, it doesn't take much to quickly ask that player to step back into his own half.

While this would normally be a trifling infringement at best, considering in this situation it was actually a key part of the deception I think that's more significant than the distance involved, so I don't think you could say the offence was trifling - but once the referee accepted the position of the players at the kickoff, he couldn't really then change his mind because they did something unexpected.

So I think the referee had no choice but to allow the goal - really, the opponents are clutching at straws, as I'd imagine almost every kickoff in that league takes place with a striker over the line.

Additionally, as Ref McHugh points out, the player appeared to have his foot on or just over the line at the time the ball was kicked. For me, that's sufficient to be able to argue that there was no breach of the laws.

Answer provided by Referee Keith Contarino

Sorry, Have to disagree here. The teammate of the kicker is CLEARLY in the opposing half of the field when the ball is kicked. What's more, the referee is staring right at the 2 players. There is no tacit acknowledgement from the referee that all players are properly lined up just because he blew his whistle to start play. Further, just speaking for myself, I never allow any player for the kicking team to line up in the opponent's half and just because that may be the norm for this League, it's still a breech of Law 8 and I can't see this goal being allowed.

Law 8 is pretty straight forward:

Kick-off
? after a team scores a goal, the kick-off is taken by the other team.
? all players must be in their own half of the fi eld of play

Answer provided by Referee Gary Voshol

The time for the referee to intervene would be before whistling for the kickoff. Move the player to the correct side of the field, and then start. If the ball goes in as in the video, then it's a goal as kickoffs have been direct kicks for over 15 years.

Don't say his position doesn't matter and allow the kick, and then disallow the goal because, lo and behold, his position really did matter. Don't dig a hole like that for yourself.

And most of us never having done games in Serbia, we can't say for sure that this 1/2 meter incursion onto the wrong side of the field is or isn't considered to be trifling there. That may be why the referee allowed the kick.