Obscure refereeing / rules question

I'm a goalkeeper and I decide to take a short goalkick to one of my defenders, who is in the penalty box but I intend to play the pass in front of him so he can wait until it's outside the box before he touches it.

I take the kick carelessly and the ball is going to an opponent instead.

My defender, still inside the box, deliberately handles the ball to prevent it going to the opponent.

Is this a penalty, or is the goal kick not yet valid, because it hasn't been played outside the penalty box yet?

I would say "dead ball" (cricket expression) as the ball is not outside the box yet and it would be a goal kick.

That's what I would say too. Is there a possible "ungentlemanly conduct" angle to it?

The is a good "Ask The Ref" thread in the Junior League forum,if you post your question there I'm sure you'll get a good response.

It's a sticky at the top of the page.

Here's a similar question from the web:

http://asktheref.com/Soccer%20Rules/Question/26079/

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I have a follow-up question to question 26072. Suppose the keeper (or other player taking the kick) miskicks the ball & it's dribbling toward the edge of the penalty area. Both an attacker & defender run toward the ball & one carelessly trips the other.

I know there can be no foul, as the ball wasn't in play; it can't be violent conduct, as it was merely careless & that the restart is to retake the goal kick.

None of the cautions seem to apply...perhaps delaying the restart.

1) Is there any remedy for the tripping?
2) What if the tripping was reckless, but without excess force, would there be a remedy?

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Answer provided by Referee Joe McHugh
Hi Phil
As the ball is not in play there cannot be an offence only misconduct. If the trip is just careless then a quiet word would suffice. If however the trip was reckless then the player is cautioned. The restart is a retake of the goal kick.

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Answer provided by Referee Gary Voshol

Remember that since neither player can play the ball until it leaves the penalty area, there is no need for them to be moving toward the ball. Did that make the careless trip seem more like a reckless trip, because there was absolutely no reason for it?

This is similar to when a player 'fouls' another outside the field of play. Since the offense took place off the field, it cannot be a foul; it could only be misconduct.

The referee has to determine in either of these situations whether the actions need some response to keep control of the game. The referee could decide that given the circumstances, there has been unsporting behavior.

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Interesting question Stuttgart. Working from the same rule, if a player was about to take a quick throw in that would send a striker free on goal, as long as a defender didn't behave reckelssly/violently, and of course the ball wasn't yet in play, could the defender simply grab the attacker's shirt and hold him back?

I suppose yes, but the ref could caution the player for trying to gain unfair advantage, or just wait until play starts and then award the free / pen idf it's still going on.

Remember when we played France in Paris in 2004? While waiting for an Irish corner to be taken Barthez punched or elbowed Andy O'Brien in the face. It couldn't have been a penalty because the ball wasn't in play yet but if the ref had seen it he could have sent Barthez off.

Good question.

I once scored a goal when a goalkeeper tried to take a short goal kick but passed it straight to me. I was certain that the ball had left the 18 yard box but the ref thought otherwise. So did the linesman who was probably a parent of one of the opposition players!!!