The Ref Stop

Goalkeeper Releasing the Ball

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NOVARef

Active Member
An indirect free kick is awarded if a goalkeeper, inside their penalty area, commits any of the following offences:
  • touches the ball with the hand/arm after releasing it and before it has touched another player
What qualifies as a "release"? Is it deliberate? Imagine any goalkeeper catching a shot and securing it with full control. He then starts jogging up to punt and he bobbles the ball, loses control of it, the ball bounces off the ground, and catches it...something like that. Or even the goalkeeper pounces on a ball and has full control, while standing up, he bobbles it and drops it and snatches it back up. I'll add that the goalkeeper is under zero pressure from the other team. Are these IDFKs? We know the goalkeeper is allowed to toss the ball up and catch it and also allowed to bounce the ball and catch it without it being a double touch. Is "release" all about control? Once the goalkeeper gains control and then loses control (whether unintentionally or intentionally), is that considered a "release"? Thanks.
 
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The Ref Stop
I look at this as vey much a spirit of the law question. Unless it’s obvious, I’m not calling it. This isn’t meant to be a gotcha rule but to prevent GKs from taking the ball out of play. As I recall, it was put in towards the end of the 4-step era for GKs. Under earlier versions of the rule, the GK could put the ball on the ground and pick it up again, and that counted as one step. This allowed an uncontested GK to put the ball down and get to the top of the PA. But it also was a tool to use up time. So in the modern game, I’m looking for the GK to have clearly intended to put the ball out of his possession before I think of calling this.
 
What about scenarios where the ball comes through to the goalkeeper who, with plenty of time on his hands, chooses to palm it down to his feet, wait for the attacker to press, and then pick it up?
 
RefereeX said:
I know that, but I'm struggling to see the law justification for it, as how can he be releasing something he never had hold of?
Click to expand...
Before this season, Law 12 stated that a goalkeeper is considered in control of the ball with their hands 'by touching it with any part of the hands or arms, except if the ball rebounds from the goalkeeper or the goalkeeper has made a save'.

However IFAB has now deleted that particular text while moving that section to the corner kick restart, without explanation, so I suppose we are left wondering if it was only a simplification of the text or if they intended to change the meaning.
 
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RefereeX said:
I know that, but I'm struggling to see the law justification for it, as how can he be releasing something he never had hold of?
Click to expand...
Good question. "Football expects" will feature in the responses somewhere. Meanwhile, I consulted a dictionary for the definition of "release" and found "to set someone or something free, make something public, or stop holding onto something" so I will go with "make public" in your scenario.
 
RefereeX said:
What about scenarios where the ball comes through to the goalkeeper who, with plenty of time on his hands, chooses to palm it down to his feet, wait for the attacker to press, and then pick it up?
Click to expand...

Play on. This used to come under deliberate parry. Deliberate parry stopped being classed as possession 20 years ago?

It's increasingly being used as a tactic to waste time now the 8 second law is in operation.

I did propose the 8 seconds being counted whenever the goalkeeper is in possession with feet and/or hands within his penalty area but it got short shrift on this forum.
 
Deliberate parry left the laws much more recently than 20, but it’s been a few—5-10? I don’t believe there was any explanation of the change and whether it was intended to make it OK or they thought it was otherwise covered. In the games I do, I’m not calling that an offense, as it would be more of a “gotcha” call than anything anyone expects.

I did call this exactly once when it was in the Laws, in what I think was precisely what the Laws (then) intended. B19 game, long ball missed the striker so badly the striker had already turned back, and the GK babied a soft ball down to the ground to stall as his team was up by a goal. I did feel a bit bad for the GK as I had literally tight him in the intro ref class for AYSO (which targets newbie ref volunteers for 10U and 12U), and we didn’t cover that nuance in the class. He politely asked me about it after the game and we had a talked about the rule and why it’s there—and why we don’t teach it in the intro class.)
 
CaptainsPlease said:
Before this season, Law 12 stated that a goalkeeper is considered in control of the ball with their hands 'by touching it with any part of the hands or arms, except if the ball rebounds from the goalkeeper or the goalkeeper has made a save'.

However IFAB has now deleted that particular text while moving that section to the corner kick restart, without explanation, so I suppose we are left wondering if it was only a simplification of the text or if they intended to change the meaning.
Click to expand...
Great spot - I hadn't actually realised they'd removed that part until now!

So any parry, even if not a save, doesn't count as the goalkeeper having control of the ball, and therefore doesn't count as releasing it, meaning this...
RefereeX said:
What about scenarios where the ball comes through to the goalkeeper who, with plenty of time on his hands, chooses to palm it down to his feet, wait for the attacker to press, and then pick it up?
Click to expand...
...is no longer an offence.
 
ARF said:
Great spot - I hadn't actually realised they'd removed that part until now!

So any parry, even if not a save, doesn't count as the goalkeeper having control of the ball, and therefore doesn't count as releasing it, meaning this...

...is no longer an offence.
Click to expand...
Would be really embarrassing to be an observer or tutor and get this wrong
 
RefereeX said:
What about scenarios where the ball comes through to the goalkeeper who, with plenty of time on his hands, chooses to palm it down to his feet, wait for the attacker to press, and then pick it up?
Click to expand...
Depends where it's going. Into or near to the goal it's a save. No offence
 
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The understanding on this issue has always been that if the ball rebounds from the goalkeeper when they make a save or need to parry a shot, they may handle again, but the OP describes the goalkeeper handling the ball with no pressure, electing to put it into play, and then handling again, which IMHO remains an indirect free kick offence.
 
I watched a referee destroy his match control by getting overly involved in this. A shot came in, yes it was weak and the keeper could have thrown his cap on it but it was still a save. He then dribbled to the edge of the area, picked it up at which point the referee penalised him. It surprised everyone, me included, of course the IDFK was scored and it turned an easy game into a bit of a nightmare. Unless they are taking the p I would suggest not getting involved.
 
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