Question Number: 28494

Law 13 - Free Kicks 6/13/2014

RE: Adult

Tony of Sydney, NSW Australia asks...

This question is a follow up to question 28485

As a follow up to your answer to this question.

If a player takes a free kick outside the PA and kicks it towards his own goal and then realises that it is going to go into his own goal and so kicks it again but the ball enters the goal what is the restart.

I believe it is an INDFK as a team can not score against itself directly from a free kick. So there is no advantage to be played, as a goal was never possible. So the restart is an INDFK for the second touch and not a goal.

I believe the same is true in the scenario mentioned in this question. As the keeper can not score against himself with the goal kick,so if he touches it again, assuming the ball is in play, with hands or anything else before anyone else touches it then once again there is no advantage to be had as a goal was never possible - even if it goes into the goal - so the second touch must be called. This is made very clear in law 16.

In Law 3 and Law 4 advantage can be played as the law clearly says so - but the law has not been written this way for law 16 or law 17.

Law 5 says that the referee can allow play to continue when the team against which an offence has been committed will benefit from such an advantage.

However in this scenario you can not score directly against yourself. A second touch by the keeper that goes in then becomes just that a second touch and so is penalised under law 16.

A deliberate pass by a team-mate to the keeper that is then touched by the keeper's hand and goes into the goal advantage is played and a goal is scored.

The same is true for a team-mate taking a throw in back to the keeper who touches the ball with his hand but the ball goes into the goal. A goal is awarded. If the keeper touched the ball with any other part of his body and the ball goes into his goal - of course we award the goal. So even if he uses his hands and the ball goes into the goal - to award a goal is logical.

Once again with the Goal kick scenario he can not score against himself. So a goal is not an option. Whatever body part he uses for the second touch. This is unlike the throw in example. So if there is a second touch and the ball ends up in the goal there can be no advantage as a goal was never an option. It must just be a second touch.

This seems to be consistent with Law 5 and law 16.

Answer provided by Referee Joe McHugh

Hi Tony
In all the scenarios you mention the ball is in play when the ball is kicked and put into play. If a player then subsequently commits an offence even a technical one the referee can and should play advantage when it benefits the offended against team. So the free kick that is double touched that enters the goal results in a kick off
As you say in Law 16 a goal cannot be scored 'directly' but this is not directly. The player has put the ball into play and then committed a technical offence punished by an IDFK. If the player knows the Laws then he should not commit the 'technical' offence but rather accept the outcome of allowing the ball to enter the goal which is going to be a corner kick.
Now these situations are extremely rare and unlikely to challenge a referee very many times if at all. Typically if the player intervenes on a double touch it usually to say prevent an opponent from playing the ball.
Have a look at this video
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=t9oAv3WJxuk
The referee should have awarded a corner kick here but seems to have got it wrong. Anyway let's say that the Blue kicker tried to prevent the Orange attacker from playing the ball and kicked / headed the ball into the goal the correct decision would be to play advantage and award the goal. Why would the referee 'reward' a technical offence with an IDFK to Orange?

Answer provided by Referee Dennis Wickham

While your logic is flawless, 'directly' does not always mean touched another player. Sometimes a second touch by the same player is enough (as in a dropped ball.)

Here, something has happened between the free kick and the goal, and that is enough for the referee to allow the advantage and award the goal.