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STOPS, STARTS AND RESTARTS – Part 2
Last month we began to examine the various situations where play is stopped, started or restarted.  This month we will finish our examination as to the reasons for these interruptions in play and the referee’s appropriate response.

Retake the penalty or let the goal stand 
If things go wrong at a penalty kick the referee decides if anyone has gained an advantage unfairly.  If the player(s) who offended were part of the team gaining the advantage the referee would have the kick retaken.

Examples

What happens if an outside agent stops the ball? 
Anyone-human or animal-not taking part in the game is not allowed to come on to the field of play without the permission of the referee.  If an ‘outside agent’ interferes with a penalty kick by touching the ball, the kick must be retaken.

In other situations, if the game is stopped because of an outside agent the game is restarted with a dropped ball.

Throw-in
A goal cannot be scored directly from a throw-in.  If a throw-in taken by the attacking team went directly into goal, play would be restarted by a goal kick.  If one taken by the defending team went directly into its own goal, play would be restarted by a corner kick.

Spectators sometimes call for a foul throw if part of the players’ foot is past the line.  The Law allows part of the foot to be over as long as the thrower has part of each foot either on the touchline or on the ground outside the touchline.  Inexperienced players often lift one foot in an effort to throw the ball further-this is a foul throw.

The thrower may not touch the ball again until it has touched another player.

The ball is in play immediately it enters the field of play.

Players sometimes stand too close or dance about in front to delay the throw-in or make it difficult fir the thrower.  The thrower can step back up to 1 yard (0.9 m) to avoid this.  If the non-thrower persists and the referee considers it to be unsporting behavior he will caution the player.  The throw-in will then be taken.

There are not many complications to explain for throw-ins.  A natural throwing movement starting from behind and over the head will usually result in the ball leaving the hands when they are in front of the vertical plane of the body.  This is permitted as long as the throwing movement is continuous and the ball is not just dropped in front of the thrower. 

The throw-in will be awarded to the other team if the thrower ignores the referee’s indication of where the throw should be taken from and takes the throw from a different position.

Goal kicks
A goal may be scored directly from a goal kick, but only against the opposing team.

Opponents must stay outside the penalty area until the ball passes out of the area and is in play.

The kicker may not play the ball a second time until it has touched another player.

A player cannot be offside from a goal kick.

Corner kicks
A goal may be scored directly from a corner kick, but only against the opposing team.

The kicker cannot play the ball a second time until it has touched another player.  Referees have to watch that a ball doesn’t rebound to the kicker off the goalpost as he can’t kick it again.

For a corner kick there is no requirement for the ball to be placed wholly in the corner arc-only part of the ball has to be on the corner arc line or indeed inside it.

Penalty shoot outs
Quote:  ‘An incredibly exciting end to a game is when there are kicks from the penalty mark to decide the result.’

‘Kicks from the penalty mark’ is a procedure to ensure that a result of a match is determined on the day.  It is highly emotional and one has to feel sorry for the player whose kick misses or is saved and whose team therefore loses. 

Quote:   ‘There have been many notable occasions when the English team has been eliminated from competition in this way.’

Fans often wonder how the decision is made concerning the end the kicks will be taken from.  This can be an important decision if the supporters of one team are at the opposite goal.  If there is no special security or pitch condition concerns the decision lies with the referee.  In FA competitions The FA advises referees to toss a coin in front of the captains and say, ‘If the coin comes down heads we will use the goal to my left, if it comes down tails we will use the goal to my right.’  In this way the referee is determining the end but all is seen as fair.

A toss of the coin determines which team starts the kicks from the penalty mark; the team that wins the toss has the choice of taking the first or second kick.

The first stage is to try to establish a winner after the first five kicks from each team.  Sometimes it doesn’t even go that far if a team falls behind and cannot catch up within the five kicks. 

Before the kicks begin all club officials leave the field and only the players are left.  To make things fair in case additional kicks have to be taken in the ‘sudden death’ situation, it is important that the two teams have equal numbers before the kicks commence.  If a team is reduced because of injury to or dismissal of any of its players, the other team stands down a number of players to make the numbers equal.  If this were not the case the team with the fewer players would return to their stronger kickers before the team who had more players.

All players eligible to take the kicks go to the centre circle.  The goalkeepers move to the goal line to either defend the kick or wait for their turn. 

When all the players in the team have taken a kick from the penalty mark they don’t have to follow the same order in taking their second kicks.

A substitute who has not taken part in the match, including extra time where it is played, may not take part in kicks from the penalty mark, except to replace an injured goalkeeper.

The fourth official  
In the professional game, you will have noticed the fourth official appearing in the technical area just before the end of the half and holding up a board with a number on it.  This is a minimum amount of time the referee has said that he is going to allow at the end of the half, for time lost.

More often than not the commentator will talk about ‘injury time’.  This is only one reason for time to be allowed.  Let’s just think about all the occasions for which time may be lost and therefore allowed at the end of each half:

Substitution
Substitution can take some time especially if the substitute is not ready when the coach requests a change.  The referee also needs to be aware that substitutions towards the end of a game are often time-consuming measures-he will therefore stop his watch and allow for this time wasting.

Assessment of injury to players
Referees are not necessarily trained in recognizing serious injury.  Referees should play safe and allow the injury to be assessed by the club trainer. 

Removal of injured players from the field of play for treatment
If stretchers are needed or support from other players, this can take some time for which the referee makes an allowance.

Wasting time
Sometimes players take their time over restarts.  You may recall occasions when goalkeepers have taken their time over goal kicks or players have been indecisive over who will take a throw-in.  Often, towards the end of a game, time is consumed by getting the player furthest away from the corner kick on the opposite side of the field to amble across and take the kick.  An alert referee will stop his watch to compensate for this.

If these actions are excessive the referee may caution the player concerned for unsporting behavior, as well as allowing for the time lost.

Any other cause
This can be for outside agents, e.g. a dog or spectators, entering the field of play and delaying play.

It is up to the referee to decide how much time is allowed.  Rather than make ‘a best guess’ the referee stops his watch on occasion and blows for time when 45 minutes show.  Should there be any further stoppages in the time allowed this would be added after the expiration of the 45 minute period in either half of the game.  That is why the announcement is always, ‘A minimum of X minutes’.  It is safer to blow for time when the ball is in fairly neutral position in the center of the field.