handball by goalkeeper

I have always read it as the goalkeeper must be within the box to handle it.. Simple as that.. If the ball is in the box and the keeper outside and he reaches back for it that is a handball and of course if he is out.. That is how it is written though I can't tell you for sure that that is how it is always interpreted..
I have "Laws of the Game" as my source... In a book.. Maybe I can find it online..Then we can know for sure..

Here.. Click and read..You can choose HTML or PDF..

http://www.fifa.com/en/regulations/regulation/0,1584,3,00.html

 

The only thing that matters is where the hands of the keeper are. Which, of course, implies that the ball has to be within the penalty area.

It is perfectly legal for a keeper to reach inside the PA and handle the ball while standing outside.

 

law 1. the field of play is marked with lines. these lines belong to the areas of which they are boundaries.
law 12. a dfk is awarded ... if a player ... handles the ball deliberately (except the goalkeeper within his own penalty area)
law 9. [the ball must wholly cross a line to be in another area.]

it is the location of the ball, not the player that determines outcomes. a player standing outside of the field of play can legally play a ball within the field of play. a keeper outside of the pa can legally touch with his hands a ball within the pa.

 

True. And for a ball that is partly in the area, most refs won't be anal enough to check whether the keeper's hand is touching the portion of the ball that is inside or outside. It's generally accepted that if any portion of the ball overlaps the PA line, the ball is [considered to be wholly] inside the PA, and any portion of the ball can be touched.

Just be sure that when you stand up, you keep the ball inside the PA!

 

I hope that "most refs wouldn't be that anal," because "trifling or doubtful" still applies.
If you need further evidence about keeper location v. ball location, think about the goal line and the goal. How many times do you see the keeper standing across the goal line, inside the goal, with the ball held out in front of themselves so that it hasn't crossed the line? Okay, not in most games, but it does happen and nobody (other than whacko parents from the other team) tries to claim that's a goal.

 

The keeper can be completely outside the penalty area, except for his hand(s), and as long as the ball is inside the penalty area (including any part of the ball breaking the plane of the area line) it is not a handling offense. Law 1 states that the lines belong to the area of which they are boundries. It also says that the ball must pass wholly over the line to be considered to have left an area (whether it be the FOP or the PA on to the FOP). The location of the keeper's body doesn't matter. Even if there is only a minor infraction, most referees would consider it trifling, have a word with the keeper ("watch your line, keep"), and play on. Only if it recurred after a verbal warning would I sanction the keeper for handling.

 

Keep it simple.... its always the ball, not the feet or body that dictates the calls. If ball is inside the PA, use your hands, outside of PA, handball.

Its always the ball....thats the easiest thing to remember.

btw: I've more then once witnessed a GK being called for a handball due to the GK holding the ball outside of the PA while punting it. As a rule of thumb, its best to teach the GKs that they should punt the ball before reaching the PA line. Some of the young GKs like to walk up to the line, extend their arms straight out, then punt...the problem is...once they extend the ball completely past the plane of the line, its a handball....

 

Only in the referee forum will you receive the same answer about fifteen different ways

 

I think that's the line that always creates the confusion..
Implying the goalkeeper must be within his area to handle it.. Of course, it's the position of the ball that matters only as these fine posters have noted..

 

"Answer No. 17:"

That is a pretty harsh call, most referees would treat holding the ball slightly over the line as trifling. If the gk is at the level where they stop and hold the ball out straight before they punt, the call is especially silly.

 

That happened to my son last year.

U12 game on a muddy field (hard to see the line) he runs up to punt the ball, sees the line ans stops just before the line. He proceeds to put his hands straight out and before he kicks the ball a whistle. The Ref (20 yards or so up field) called a hand ball, he must have realized my son stopped on/close to the line by the sadden stop, so he "knew" the ball was out of the area when he reached forward. Ref called a DK and placed the ball on the line (which I found "interesting") the kicker (U12) lifts the ball over the wall and in the top right corner of the goal . Game ends 1:0

 

Lame. I've had ARs waive their flag for one step out of the box on punts (I was actually the other AR). I gave the guy grief after the game about it and he didn't understand why.

 

USSF instructs that a referee give a goalkeeper a verbal warning for overstepping the penalty area on the first occurance. On subsequent offenses the infringement should be whistled.

You should adjust this instruction based on the skill and age of the players, of course. However, referees should not simply deem the offense trifling if it occurs repetitively. The first offense is trifling, none of the rest should be.

 

sagy - very hard to judge a crossed line from a perpendicular position. absent an ar, very hard to call. but, i did call a keeper for picking up a ball kicked to the top of the pa when his toes were clearly on the line and he had to reach forward to get the ball. would only call this if there was a chance the ball could be played by an attacker. otherwise, trifling.

and, certainly, placement of the ball on the pa line would indicate the ball had not crossed the line for the handling call. ball needed to be outside the pa for the restart.

 

For a punt that crosses the line, generally it is a trifling matter - warn if the keeper is clearly over. If you are doing a solo game, then the keeper will need to be solidly over (yard plus) before i'd ever consider calling it since the keeper gets the benefit of the doubt. If you have ARs, tell them how you want it handled (I always tell them warn first).

The situation is very different if I'm dealing with a save where the keeper end up sliding out of the box or where the keeper picked up the ball in front of an attacker. Sad thing is, you have to be really sure in the second case, since if you call it a foul, the situation stands a good chance of being DOGSO without some real finessing (claim the initial touch was legal, but then the keeper's hands went out of the penalty area, therefore creating foul but no the legal first touch negated the scoring opportunity).

 

Sympathize. Same happened to one of my keepers, only the ref was beyond the half field line when making the call.

 

In their defense, usually at U12 the refs are usually inexperienced or just out there to get the games covered because no one else will. They've learned the rules, but aren't true soccer people that understand the spirit of the game.

 

If the keeper steps over the line, you KNOW the ball was handled outside the PA. I consider stopping inside the line and possibly handling the ball over the line in the process of the punt to be trifling. I consider stepping beyond the line to be handling. A young keeper would deserve a warning, older players are typically intentionally pushing the limits.

If my AR flags it, and I didn't address it in the pregame otherwise, I'll back up my AR. Likewise, if I'm the AR and I flag it, I'll hope that my CR supports me, and that my fellow AR doesn't see it as his job to give me grief for something that happened on my end of the field... assuming he was well-positioned and doing his job, there probably wouldn't be anyone on the field in a worse position to second-guess my call.

In a U14 tournament game this June, as AR I once flagged the same keeper for stepping over the line three times in five minutes. For the record, yes, his plant foot was well over the line. You'd think he would have gotten the picture.

 

I get that in some of the Latino Men's League games I do in my area. These guys grew up playing soccer and should know better. Even so, they will really try to push the envelope on this type of stuff. I still give them a warning first, but after that, the flag comes up.

They also like to place the ball outside the goal area on goal kicks. Not just a little. I'm talking 1 to 1.5 feet. I really have to follow the mechanic of checking placement of the ball, and then moving to position.

 

Funny you should mention that... the same team in the same game I mentioned above, also had the same problem. On his first goal kick, the guy taking the kick glanced at me as he was setting the ball down, with just a fraction of it over the goal area line. I let it go. Next time, he glanced at me again out of the corner of his eye and rolled it a foot past the line. I flagged it. For the rest of the game, he never even bothered to check if I was watching or not - he just put it on the line.

It was nice to be working that game with a more experienced, higher-ranked ref that still trusted and respected my calls. And, not that it matters, but the team that had the issues with goal kicks and punts still won the game - but they won it on the field by playing better.

 

Provided, of course, that the keeper is still holding onto the ball as she crosses the line. That's not always the case - many keepers will drop the ball forward, and even though the contact point of the drop kick (and sometimes even punt) is outside the PA, there was no handling. Drives the other coach wild - "She's WAY outside the box - that's a HANDBALL." I was glad one game I could say, "Coach, I was watching her carefully the last 3 punts. She always lets the ball go before she crosses the line."

 

To add to Gary's point, if the keeper is releasing the ball into play, even if there is some lingering contact with the hand after the ball has crossed out of the penalty area, if it is not in the referee's opinon a deliberate breach, cynical attempt to cheat or unfairly disadvantage the opponents, then it is really nothing, not even trifling, but doubtful at best.

 

So what if the keeper steps over the line to punt? If the older players are 'pushing the limits', is the game being impacted? What advantage does the 'keeper get for an extra coupla feet on his/her punt? I will remind the 'keeper to watch the line, but if no advantage is being achieved, will consider it trifling at worst. Again, a 50 yard versus a 49 yard punt, but for that extra yard paying with a free kick from 18 yards?

Again, I consider this trifling. Now, its different if the keeper dives for the ball and grabs the ball outside the area. Then we aren't trifling at all. Plus, the entire world sees that, knows it matters, and gets upset, whereas on the punt none of the players and usually none of the coaches have much to say.

It is however entertaining to listen to the parents/fans go nuts over the punt issue. The only thing I can think of that gets em more is the touchline issue. But, hey, we can let the idiots entertain us with their hijiinks.

 

First, the PA line is there for a reason. The first or even second time, okay, it's trifling, but definitely a warning. But when do you enforce the standard. 6 inches, 1 foot, 1 yard? It's just like anything in the game. If you allow it once, players expect you to continue to do so, and rightfully so.

In comparison, if the ball barely crosses the touch or goalline, do we consider it trifling and allow play to continue? If between the posts, not count a goal because it went just over the line? Perhaps not the same impact on the game, but IMHO, it's the same concept.