AboutJohn Cummings Expertise Do you have a call made by the referee in last week`s match puzzling you? Are you a referee who may not be certain that what was done was the right thing to do? I shall be glad to entertain any questions about officiating soccer. The more the players, coaches and supporters understand the referee and his/her decisions, the more fun we can have on the pitch.
Experience After coaching my son's travel team, I have been USSF State Referee, State Assessor, Assignor and State Instructor in addition to having been a college NISOA referee,a NISOA clinician, a NISOA assessor and a high school referee.
Question If a goalie has one foot over the penalty area, the whole of the ball is inside the penalty area and the goalie picks it up, is it a handball?
Answer Good question. This is one that even many less experienced referees misinterpret.
The entire question depends not on where the goalie is, but where the BALL is when it is handled. The goalie may have his/her entire body outside of the penalty area when he/she handles the ball in the penalty area, and this is legal. However, if the ball is completely over the line outside of the penalty area, neither the goalie nor any other player may legally play the ball with his/her hands.
The call gets to be a little tough when the goalie punts the ball right at the top of the penalty area. The question arises whether the ball was in the keeper's hands when the ball crossed the line marking the penalty area. If so, that would be a foul and a direct free kick. Most experienced referees feel that if there is a question of whether the ball was in or out of the penalty area, do NOT call the foul as it is better to let the game flow and proceed.
Hope this helps, and I hope you have fun on the pitch.
