Question Number: 22951

Law 9 - The Ball in and out of Play 3/16/2010

RE: 7 Adult

edward levene of london, uk asks...

hi there i watched a game recently where a player shot the the ball over the crossbar whist in the penalty area. as he has shot ball over the player was then fouled as the ball left the field of play a goal kick was given is this correct

Answer provided by Referee Joe McHugh

Hi Referee Levene
Always a difficult one to call. Was the ball out of play before the late challenge and did the foul have an influence on subsequent play?
My guess is that the referee decided that it may have been out of play or certainly too close/difficult to call it and that it did not have a bearing on play. Its a sort of allowing play to continue situation. If a goal had resulted then that would certainly have been allowed.
Having said all that the referee can take disciplnary action against the tackler for the late challenge even after the ball is out of play. The restart does not change however.
If the referee deems that the ball was in play then the foul is called and it is a DFK or penalty restart. If say the ball clearly came back into play from a save or off the post then it is most definitely a penalty.

Answer provided by Referee Gary Voshol

If the ball left the field of play before the challenge, there is no foul. The ball was out of play, so the action cannot be a foul but could be misconduct.

Some referees will decide that since the ball was on the way out, the foul that happened before it crossed the line did not have any effect on play so it need not be called. I don't like giving a player a blanket 'Get Out Of Jail Free' for that. Certainly if the foul was serious enough for a card, I'd be restarting with the PK for the foul.

Answer provided by Referee Keith Contarino

Depends what you mean by 'as the ball left the field of play'. If the ball had left the field of play before the offense, no foul is possible so we restart with a goal kick but may punish the offense as misconduct. If the ball had NOT left the field of play then restart with a penalty kick.