Question Number: 23792

Law 12 - Fouls and Misconduct 8/18/2010

RE: social Adult

ian of cairns, queensland australia asks...

can a player play the ball(kick it)while he's on the floor.eg sitting down.

Answer provided by Referee Joe McHugh

Hi Ian
Yes the player can kick the ball while lying on the ground. What he cannot do is play in a dangerous manner which is defined as any action that, while trying to play the ball, threatens injury to someone (including the player himself). It is committed with an opponent nearby and prevents the opponent from playing the ball for fear of injury. So in the case of a player on the ground playing the ball he could prevent an opponent from playing the ball for fear of injuring the player.

Answer provided by Referee Gary Voshol

My instructor had a visual example of this. He had two students come to the front of the room, put a ball between them, and told them to look like they were both making a play for the ball. He asked, 'Are either of them playing in a dangerous manner?' Of course not.

Then he had one of the students lie on the floor, with the ball still between them. 'OK, has the change in position put either of them in a dangerous position?' No - they still had the ball between them, and their shoes were still 4-5 feet away from each other's faces.

It's a different matter if the player on the ground has the ball between his legs or wraps his body around it. That could be a dangerous position because the other player would need to kick or nearly kick the player on the ground in a tender spot to get to the ball.

Some leagues, such as U-Littles and O-Lots, have rules against slide tackles because of safety - the kids don't know how to safely do a slide tackle, and the oldsters have to be able to go to work on Monday morning. Unfortunately those rules often get misinterpreted as 'no playing on the ground'.

Answer provided by Referee Michelle Maloney

Since falling and landing on the ground are as much a part of soccer as kicking the ball and running, it would be odd if a player was not allowed to play or continue to play a ball while sitting or lying on the ground.

What they cannot do in that seated or lying position is prevent an opponent from being able to safely play the ball without either injuring themselves or the person on the ground. If the opponent is prevented from playing the ball, then the referee should award (quickly, to prevent injury) an IDFK for the opponent.