Question Number: 27604

Law 5 - The Referee 7/16/2013

RE: Rec Under 18

Earl of Toronto, Ontario Canada asks...

We were up 1-0 with about one minute left to play. I was playing on left midfield and received the ball up the field. As soon as it came to me I kicked it over a fence as far as I could trying waste the clock left. 5 seconds later the ref decides to blow the whistle and call me over. I received a yellow for delay of game. I was just wondering if you could get a yellow for kicking the ball while it's in play. Thanks

Answer provided by Referee Jason Wright

Hi Earl,

I've had this same debate with a number of colleagues.

The cautionable offences allow a lot of flexibility for the referee to apply them to various offences.

In your particular scenario, there are two thoughts.

The first is that if the ball is in play then you're entitled to run down the clock any way you can, and there are no restrictions on 'how' you put the ball out of play. If it goes 5 yards or 50, all you've done is kick the ball out, which is legal.

The argument to this is that it's very clear what you're doing, and you are seeking to exploit the laws to unfairly run down the clock. There are some other situations in the laws where a player may do something that's otherwise 'legal' but because it's very far removed from normal play or the spirit of the game, it becomes unsporting and cautionable. In this case, there's no reason, in terms of normal play, for you to boot the ball so far like that when it's clear what you're doing, so that's what escalates it to something cautionable.

Most referees are in the first camp - while distasteful, it's not illegal, and that's my side, but I believe the laws do allow for the 2nd interpretation which is why I posted both sides, even though I can't imagine a scenario where I would issue a caution here.

Answer provided by Referee Joe McHugh

Hi Earl
While this is something that is not in the 'spirit of the game' there was no offence here and it is not a caution. You will certainly never see this caution at high levels of the game.
What has happened here is that in the last few seconds of a game the referee has decided 'incorrectly' to perhaps 'calm down' the losing team that he has taken action on 'kicking the ball away' or that he personally did not like the action or he did not know the law fully. Whichever way it should not have been a caution.
The clich? 'find Row Z' has been used to describe the hypothetical destination of these forceful clearance and it certainly never has been a caution. I might ask is the running to the corner flag with the ball to run down the clock any different? It might not be liked and not in the spirit of the game but it certainly is not a 'caution' either.
So the referee has total control of the timing and he can and should add on the 'time lost' while the ball is retrieved. The opponents get possession of the ball at a throw in etc with no loss of time and in fact the referee can err on the side of ensuring that all 'time lost' is fully accounted for.
That is the correct way to deal with it.

Answer provided by Referee Gary Voshol

If you decide to blast the ball into the next time zone, all the ref needs to do is add time on to compensate. When I see it as an obvious ploy, I'm adding time liberally.

Answer provided by Referee Keith Contarino

Don't see why the referee issued a caution here. All you did was put the ball out of play which is your right. That said, most referees will simply add all time lost chasing after the ball and probably add a bit more as 'punishment' for your obvious attempt to run down the clock.