in law 12 regarding goalie offences: "An indirect free kick is awarded to the opposing team if a goalkeeper, inside his own penalty area, commits any of the following four offences: 3. touches the ball with his hands after it has been deliberately kicked to him by a team-mate;" what is the definition of a kick? does a knee, thigh or shin count as a kick?
Ahhhh! The old “passback” rule! Can’t quote rule/law, or something in writing, however I do remember in a clinic that from the knee down is considered the “foot.” I will tell you that there are those who claim it is the foot only. Someone told me that the almighty Jim Allen had commented that the ball must come from the foot…anything above doesn’t count. Note that a deflection off the foot would NOT be considered a “foul” once the keeper touched the ball. That is what is meant by deliberate…not deflected…but deliberately kicked. It has nothing to do with the intention of the kicker.
i understand the delibrate part. it becomes debatable when a player delibrately sends it back to the keeper using a knee and the keeper handles it.
here is the thread from two years ago. https://www.bigsoccer.com/forum/showthread.php?t=73277 assuming no trickery to circumvent the law, knee is okay.
The knee is not a foot. No infraction there IMHO. The shin is a bit more of a grey area, but I figure if a player can deliberately shin a ball back to the keeper, more power to them. Just hope it's not an own goal. Advice to Referees says: "The requirement that the ball be kicked means only that it has been played with the foot."
IMHO, ...unless I'm not understanding this corectly....the only reasonable passes back that a GK can pick up are ones from the head, chest or stomache. All others (shin, knee, thigh), would be considered an infraction. The easiest way to remember this is: above the waist (not including the arms)=fine; below the waist=illegal. And of course, a deflection, poor clearance or misque would not constitute a pass-back as the original intention was for the ball to go somewhere else. Best of luck....
I'm confused. My understanding is that the intention is a not a factor. If the pass (kick) was a deliberate action then the goalie can't use his hand (regardless of the indented target of the pass). If the ball was deflected (not a deliberate action) the goalie can pick the ball up.
You are right, Sagy. There is a subtle difference between "deliberate" and "intentional." The word "deliberate" describes the action in of itself, not the result of the action. The word "intentional" describes what the result of the action was meant to be. No defender would ever intend for a goalkeeper to pick the ball up after passing it to him!
The question is "what is a kick" Jim Allen (almighty or otherwise, he IS the voice of USSF) has stated that a kick is "striking with the foot". This was ment to apply to free kicks but I think it applies here, too. Only something off the shoe would count for a kickback. (excepting when the shoe has momentarily come off) It does include any ball from one defenders foot that makes it to the keeper via other defenders without some contact by an attacker.
Please see the below site fifalotg: http://www.fifa.com/fifa/handbook/laws/2002/LOTG2002_E.pdf Law 12, page 13 of the handbook....
The ball must be kicked back to the keeper in order for it to be an infraction. In general, that means the foot. If the ball is taking a slight bounce, and it hits off the defender's ankle or shin rather than the foot, I still view that as a deliberate kick back to the keeper. The knee and above is OK, as this is not a kick. The shin area just below the knee is a gray area. If it looked like they were trying to knee it back and it hit the upper shin, I wouldn't call it. If it was more sticking the leg out to kick it without it hitting the foot, but still in a "kicking" manner, I would probably call that.
Note that on the following page, Decision 3 states "a player may pass the ball to his own goalkeeper using his head or chest or knee, etc." Thus the knee and above is OK. The foot is not OK. The only questionalble area is the shin. IMO, a judgement call for the ref to make, whether the player "kicked" the ball or not.
I just checked the USSF Advice to Referees. ATR specifically states that the requirements for calling the infraction include the FOOT playing the ball (not a direct quote). In other words, any intentional play with a legal body part above the foot (shin, knee, etc.) is permissible. Of course, if trickery is involved (for example, lifting the ball from the foot to the head), have your yellow card handy to caution the offending player.
I cannot ever recall seeing a player deliberately "kicking" a ball with their shin. I have seen it happen accidentily with very young players but never in any sort of competitive match. I guess there is a first time time for everything though.
But herein lies the problem…what is the definition of “FOOT?” And before you answer, think of the definition of “HAND” when it comes to handling…the hand starts at the shoulder!
Alternate question on this issue: Ball is crossed into area, defender traps the with their feet gains clear control over the ball, keeper runs in and picks it off the defenders foot. Any infraction? Add a slight wrinkle- trap is not great but still an intentional touch-just result not what was perfectly intended, ball goes a foot or so to defenders side towards keeper, keep picks up ball. Any infraction?
This came up on another site - the ruling was that stopping the ball with the bottom of the foot constitutes a kick. If it's deliberate, then it's an IFK if the keeper picks it up...
Agreed... remember, it is perfectly legal to kick the ball back to ones own goalkeeper. The infraction occurs when the goalkeeper handles the ball, not when it is passed to him, unless the passer uses trickery (passes the ball with his foot to another part of his body) to try to make the goalkeeper's subsequent handling of the ball legal. Thus, the goalkeeper has to decide if the ball is one that can be handled, or not.
This is rediculous. You're telling me that referees have to make judgement calls? Next you'll tell me we're supposed wear socks while working! Honestly, I've always thought this was one of the most straight forward laws out there. Use basic logic here and you're fine. (By basic I mean think of Clinton might try to interpret the law and then step back to reality.) -davidjd
Foot is ankle down. Essentially below the shin guard, although any 'keeper that handles a pass from a teammate's shin is risking a call (as can be seen from some earlier opinions here). The more interesting discussion on this Law involves deliberate passes that are not directly to the 'keeper, yet placed so that the 'keeper may run over to pick up the ball. For example, a pass by a defender under pressure, kicked towards the goal line with just enough pace that it allows the 'keeper to run over to prevent the corner kick. This must be sanctioned under Law 12, even though the pass was not "to" the 'keeper. So many youth soccer refs will penalize the "shin pass", yet they allow the deliberate circumvention of the Law in this manner.
For me, anything from the ankle bone to the foot is considered part of the foot. I think that you'd be able to tell if the foot made contact fairly easily. Let's not try to make this more difficult than it really is - if you feel like the foot kicked the ball to the keeper and he/she handled it, call it. Of course, the way some kids wear shin guards, the foot may start mid-shin!
First case, I'd have to look at the defender. If he looked back at the keeper and trapped the ball, that MIGHT be an infraction. Second case, I'd let it go. This is a situation where I would err in the defense's favor if I'm not sure. I'd treat this situation like I do offside - if I'm not 100% sure that it was an intentional passback, I'd let it go.
Example number one is most definetely an IFK going in. I've seen it called many times in Europe. Example number two could or could not be. I would factor in the age/skil level of play to make my decision.