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Laws of the Game for Goalkeepers
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The specific laws of the game that pertain to goalkeepers are listed and described below. From FIFA, the governing body of soccer around the world. (Click
for FIFA laws of the game)
Note: The FIFA laws of the game are identical for men and women. The laws refered to below apply to all ages as well.
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When the keeper cannot (and
can) pick-up the ball:
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The goalkeeper may handle the ball if the
ball is within the penalty box. Note that it is the position of the
ball that matters not the position of the goalkeeper.
The exception is the pass back:
Law 12 from
the FIFA
laws of the game awards an
indirect kick if a goalkeeper:
- Touches the ball with his hands after it
has been deliberately kicked to him by a team-mate (Note the words
deliberately kicked. If a ball deflects off a defender’s foot,
the keeper may use her hands)
- Touches the ball with his hands after he
has received it directly from a throw-in taken by a team-mate.
- Touches the ball again with his hands
after it has been released from his possession and has not touched any
other player.
but Decision 3 states that:
- a player may pass the ball to his own
goalkeeper using his head or chest or knee, etc.
- If, however, in the opinion of the
referee, a player uses a deliberate trick while the ball is in play in
order to circumvent the Law, the player is guilty of unsporting
behavior. He is cautioned, shown the yellow card and an indirect free
kick is awarded to the opposing team from the place where the
infringement occurred.
- A goalkeeper is permitted to trap the
ball with a part of the body other than the hands or feet and then pick
it up any time after unless a teammate touches the ball during this
time.
Examples:
- The opposition kicks the ball and it rolls into the penalty box. The keeper traps the ball with her feet,
dribbles to the other side of the box, picks it up and punts it.
- No call.
- The ball deflects off a defender and rolls into the corner of the
field with not opposition close. The keeper goes out of the box,
dribbles the ball back into the box with his feet, and picks up the
ball. - No call.
- A ball rolls into the box. The
keeper traps the ball badly. The ball goes to a teammate who
touches the ball back to the keeper who picks it up. - Whistle,
indirect kick from the spot the ball was picked up.
- A defender, attempting to clear the ball
up field, misses the kick but touches the ball with his foot as it
heads toward the goal. The keeper picks the ball up. - As
the kick to him was not deliberate, no call.
- The keeper blows a punt and the ball
falls a few feet away still in the box. The keeper dives on the
ball as the opposition closes in. - Whistle, indirect kick where
the keeper picked the ball back up.
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How long, how long:
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Law 12 from the FIFA laws of the game also
awards an indirect kick if a goalkeeper:
- takes more than six seconds while
controlling the ball with his hands before releasing it from his
possession
Note:
Possession here refers to holding the ball in the hands. If a
keeper chooses to put the ball down on the ground and kick or dribble
it they can take all day, as long as they don’t pick it up again.
I have only seen rule this called once but that one time cost the Canadian Women's Olympic team their chance in the semi-finals against the US in 2012. Keeper Erin McCleod abused the rule so many times during the game that the referee finally got fed-up and gave a free-kick to the US within the penalty box. The free-kick hit a Canadian player's arm resulting in a penalty kick. The US made the PK and went on to win the game and eventually the gold medal.
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Uniforms:
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Law 4 of the FIFA laws states that:
- each goalkeeper wears colours that distinguish him from the other players, the referee and the assistant referees.
Note: Referees
usually wear yellow. On one occasion a referee insisted that our
keeper who favored a yellow shirt switch to her orange backup shirt.
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The Ultimate:
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Law 12 from the FIFA laws of the game also penalizes a player if he:
- denies the opposing team a goal or an
obvious goalscoring opportunity by deliberately handling the ball (this
does not apply to a goalkeeper within his own penalty area).
If your keeper
comes out of the penalty box and stops a ball with his hands that
otherwise would have gone into the goal, the opposing team will be
awarded a free kick and the keeper will be ejected with a red
card. I have seen this happen twice in indoor soccer.
If your keeper is ejected you will have to play a player short but will be able to designate a different player as goalkeeper.
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