Whoops! I messed up

[Simon Haydon]

87th minute on a chilly Sunday. Home team looking for first win of season to get off the bottom of the table is leading 2-1 against 4th placed team. Home goalkeeper catches ball in his area and hits the floor shouting and rolling around claiming to have been punched in the eye by an attacking player. I decide it's simulation and caution him.
And I restart with an indirect free kick on the six yard line, which to my great relief the away team mess up.
No dissent, no arguing with the decision, but I had my own doubts after the game. Took me a while to track the relevant part of Law 12 and restarts after a simulation caution, but there it is... "Restart with a Dropped Ball."
Oh dear. I'm glad I wasn't being assessed but especially glad the free kick went wide and the home team got their first win of the season.

 

[Conor Murphy]

I would have took the easy free kick out and finished the game without incident

 

[DB]

Another way to get out of that situation: The ball was still in play, carry on until the ball leaves play, then go back and caution.

I had the same situation on Sunday morning. Red goes down extremely theatrically, definite dive. Yellow team goes on the break, counters and hits the post and the ball goes out of play. I find the red skipper, caution for simulation and resume with a goal-kick.

Reds were 6-0 up at the time (82nd minute) in a Sunday Cup quarter final, had 11 men compared to Blue's 10 and they were taking the piss, laughing at everything, fancy flicks, tricks and just teasing the opposition... As he was flying through the air, he flung his arms and legs out, shouting in a rather high pitched, giggley squeal "ahhhhh ref".... Obviously completely denied the dive on the field and as I was cautioning after...

Shook my hand afterwards and admitted the offence, "we were just having fun, Ref"...

 

[Kes]

87th minute on a chilly Sunday. Home team looking for first win of season to get off the bottom of the table is leading 2-1 against 4th placed team. Home goalkeeper catches ball in his area and hits the floor shouting and rolling around claiming to have been punched in the eye by an attacking player. I decide it's simulation and caution him.
And I restart with an indirect free kick on the six yard line, which to my great relief the away team mess up.
No dissent, no arguing with the decision, but I had my own doubts after the game. Took me a while to track the relevant part of Law 12 and restarts after a simulation caution, but there it is... "Restart with a Dropped Ball."
Oh dear. I'm glad I wasn't being assessed but especially glad the free kick went wide and the home team got their first win of the season.

I'm not sure where you get that "dropped ball" idea from mate, but unless I'm much mistaken, you were right the first time.
If you stop play to administer a card for unsporting behaviour, play is restarted with an IDFK from where the offence took place.

Isn't it?

 

[AlexF]

I decide it's simulation and caution him. And I restart with an indirect free kick on the six yard line, which to my great relief the away team mess up.

Spot on. You've stopped play to deal with misconduct, not a foul or actual injury (to your mind). Thus, the restart is an IFK to the opponent.

Took me a while to track the relevant part of Law 12 and restarts after a simulation caution, but there it is... "Restart with a Dropped Ball."

I'm really not sure where you're reading this at all...

The only bit about a dropped ball in Law 12 is (there's some expansion on this in the I+G portion, but same context):

If the referee stops play due to an offence committed outside the field of play (when the ball is in play), play must be restarted with a dropped ball from the position of the ball when play was stopped [...]