Preventing the goalkeeper from releasing the ball is a tricky thing. In quiz 2 of 2025-2026 many referees wanted to see a yellow card there, but that’s most of the times not correct by law. Here’s how you should handle as a referee. Clip of an attacker getting the ball Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit. Ut elit tellus, luctus nec ullamcorper mattis, pulvinar dapibus leo. Dit bericht op Instagram bekijken Een bericht gedeeld door DAZN Belgium (@dazn_be) The laws about the restart Laws of the game are clear about the restart and the sanction. Firstly, we go to the restart of play after such an offence. “An indirect free kick is awarded if a player (…) prevents the goalkeeper from releasing the ball from the hands or kicks or attempts to kick the ball when the goalkeeper is in the process of releasing it.” The sanction for preventing a goalkeeper from releasing Cautionable offences are mentioned in the laws, but preventing a goalkeeper from releasing the ball is not in there. Many referees I talked with say: this is unsporting behaviour. But be aware this is not in the laws. IFAB confirms the indirect free kick to the goalkeeper’s team, “as opponents may not play the ball while the goalkeeper is in the process of releasing it”. Then a crucial part about the card: “The attacker is not cautioned unless the action is reckless or stops/interferes with a promising attack, in which case a yellow card is shown.” In this case it’s not reckless for sure, we all agree on that. Promising attack or not? The tricky part is always the promising attack, but keep in mind that there is usually more defenders than attackers at the other end of the pitch. Which means, there is a huge chance that a kick from the goalkeep won’t even reach an attacker. No promising attack then.
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