Question Number: 23270

Law 17 - Corner Kick 5/6/2010

RE: Rec Under 10

Steve Davenport of Wenatchee, WA Chelan asks...

When taking a corner kick, if the ball hits the goal post and comes back into the field of play is it considered to be out of bounds? At my Daughters game last night the ball from the corner kick hit the goal post, bounced back onto the field and we scored a goal. The other coach was telling the ref that since the ball hit the post it should have been out of bounds and the goal should not have been counted.
Additionally the same coach instructed her players to scream at our players everytime they had the ball to try an intimidate them. Is it legal to scream at the other players like that? These are nine year old girls, and some of their screams sounded like the refs whistle. Thank you

Answer provided by Referee Jason Wright

The ball has not left the field of play until it has wholly crossed one of the boundary lines.

If the ball hits the crossbar and rebounds into the field of play, then how could one claim that it's crossed the line? Unless the ball has swerved over the line and back in, the ball would be traveling along the line to hit the post, thus remaining on the field of play.

Also, if a player shouts at an opponent to try and put them off, this is considered unsporting behaviour and is punished with a caution and an indirect free kick.

As an ex-coach of this age group myself, I find it extremely disappointing that anybody would coach such a young team in this fashion.

Answer provided by Referee Gary Voshol

The ball is in play until it completely crosses the line. Since the goalline is *supposed* to be the same width as the goal post, if it hits the post it has not yet gone out.

Please report the actions of this coach to your rec league division manager. There is no excuse for encouraging his players to cheat. As Ref Wright notes, this is punishable by a caution. The likely inexperienced referee you had at this low-level game probably didn't know how to react to a coach who exhibited such ignorance and unsporting behavior.

Answer provided by Referee Gene Nagy

Good grief Steve! Sounds like the other coach cut his skills as a baseball coach. Unsporting, distasteful, unpalatable or even disgusting comes to mind. He needs to be straightened out and quickly. Call the top guy in the league and stop that idiot from coaching screaming.
In soccer the ball has to completely over the line to be considered out of bounds. Since the posts are on the goal line, the ball has not left the field in your example.

Answer provided by Referee Joe McHugh

Hi Steve
The ball is out of play when all of the ball is over the line or plane of the line. Clearly if the ball hits the post and rebounds into play it is not out of play. Now it is an entirely different matter if the ball wholly crosses the plane of the goal line before it hits the post. It is not possible for any coach standing in the technical area to determine if that indeed happened. It is a call to be made by the Referee & AR looking at the flight of the ball. If there is any doubt then play continues.
As regards screaming at a player that is indeed unsporting behaviour, the player is cautioned and the restart is an IDFK. At U10s I'm not in favour of cautions particularly when the player is responding to a coach's instruction. The referee if he has experience IMO should stop play and speak with the coach informing him of the law in this regard. Also I believe that there is an onus on the opposing coach to bring this behaviour to the attention of the referee and the coach. Coaching young player contrary to the Laws of the Game is not acceptable. He would not do it in any game that I was officiating on and the opposing coach has a role here as well by raising this illegal behaviour with the relevant persons including the referee.

Answer provided by Referee Michelle Maloney

Your opposing coach has a hard lesson coming her way. Teaching 8 & 9 year old girls to scream at their opponents does so many wrong things I can't list them all! First of all, it is unsporting behavior to act in this manner which by itself can get the coach dismissed, but just as importantly, if they are focused on when to scream at an opponent, that means they have NO clue when or how to challenge for the ball or to intercept a pass or do any of the things one normally learns to do when playing the game. Here this is a game for children, where this behavior has no place at all, as it has no place in the game as played anywhere in the world. PLEASE report this behavior to both the league officials and the referee assignor. Between them, they can arrange the necessary thump up side the head, and then insure she follows through appropriately.

The ball never left the field, and assuming it wasn't the girl taking the corner kick who then kicked it into the goal, it is a goal. (One assumes these are not American style football goal posts extending above the soccer net? If so, a ball that hits one of those is considered out of play - but this is NEVER true for the actual goal posts in the soccer game.)

If the girl taking the corner was the one to kick it in, the restart would be an INDFK for the other team where she touched it twice.