Question Number: 35688

Law 12 - Fouls and Misconduct 9/9/2024

Petr of Prague, Czech Republic Czech Republic asks...

Hello,

one more short question please.

Situation:

The player stops the ball by placing a foot on it.

Is this considered a back pass to the goalkeeper?

Thank you very much!

Answer provided by Referee Richard Dawson

HI Petr,
it -COULD- be considered as an INDFK offence for a deliberate pass using the foot, depending on time and circumstances.
A keeper close by diving to collect a ball at approximately the same time with opposition all around is likely to viewed as a save.
But if a defender stopped the ball and no opponent nearby, then shielded the ball as opponents come closer until the keeper came to collect it, we likely award the INDFK!
Same again if he stopped the ball and simply left it for the keeper to come and take over possession as he went out wide to provide an alternate passing angle. The keeper is free to dribble the ball and say it was outside the PA, he dribbles it back inside, now pursued by the opposition and then chooses to pick it up? Well his restriction of non use of hands was ALWAYS there and the INDFK is awarded!
Cheers

Answer provided by Referee Joe McHugh

Hi Petr
Yes that action is considered a kick even though the ball has not travelled any distance.
The glossary in the Law book states that ** The ball is kicked when a player makes contact with it with the foot and/or the ankle**
So there has been contact on the ball with a foot which is a kick.

If this happens in a situation where the action is to *play / leave* the ball to the goalkeeper there is a clear restriction on the goalkeeper on touching the ball with hands and if it happens it is an IDFK from where the ball was handled.

Answer provided by Referee Peter Grove

Hi Petr,

You don't say what happened here after the player placed their foot on the ball but based on your question I guess we have to suppose that the goalkeeper has subsequently touched the ball with their hands and proceed to answer the question on that basis.

I think it helps to be careful with our terminology here. The law does not say that the ball has to go backwards, nor does it say it has to be passed. What it says, is that it is an offence for the goalkeeper to touch the ball with the hands after it has been deliberately kicked to them by a teammate.

There are a couple of things to consider here - firstly was the ball kicked? According to the definition of a kick in the laws, yes it was.

Secondly was it deliberately kicked? That is to say, was this an intentional play and not an accidental or inadvertent touch of the ball by the player?

Thirdly, was the ball deliberarely kicked to the goalkeeper? This is one of the offences where the referee must still make a judgment as to the intent of the player. Did this player, when they stopped the ball with their foot, intend for it to finish up with the goalkeeper?

There is a phrase that I like to use here that I think helps distill what should be the referees thinking. Admittedly it is a phrase that was originally used by the IFAB for a slightly different part of the law but I think is also highly applicable here and says that:

"... the referee must only be convinced that this was the player’s motive."

So the question to be asked here, is are you convinced that when the player placed their foot on the ball, their motive in doing so was to enable the goalkeeper to take possession of the ball - or not?

If you're sure that when the player stopped the ball in this way, they meant for it to go to the goalkeeper then it's an indirect free kick offence when the goalkeeper touches it with their hands. If on the other hand you're not sure what the player intended to happen then I believe you should err on the side of caution and not give an offence, at least in the first instance of this happening.

The following questions were asked as a follow up to the above question...

See Question: 35690