| Fall 2011 Bi-County Soccer Rules A list of general soccer rules to help beginners understand the game. Please keep in mind the most important rule – HAVE FUN! Allow the players to play, the coaches to coach, and the referees to referee. Encourage all players and criticize none. Rude behavior by players, coaches, or spectators will not be tolerated. Thank you for being a part of the Bi-County soccer league. Reproduced and obtained from the soccer-for-parents.com website, IHSAA, www.ucs.mun.ca/~dgraham/lotg/ Introduction: One of the greatest problems in youth soccer is the number of completely baffled parents and coaches who have never played the game and don't understand the basic rules of soccer. In many cases like my own, parents didn't have the opportunity to play soccer in their youth and consequently have never learned this great sport. Many soccer leagues, however, are desperate for volunteers willing to help out and knowledge is not a prerequisite. On the job training is a mainstay in youth soccer. Unfortunately, sometimes these new parents never get the training for various reasons and end up either incorrectly teaching their kids or a soccer team or yelling at the referees. RULE 1 - No Hands, please I bet you knew that one. Most people who know nothing about soccer still know that you aren’t supposed to use your hands unless you’re the goalie. A couple of points to clarify. First, the rule for a hand ball includes using any part of the body from the tips of the fingers to the shoulder. Second, the proper way to look at this soccer rule is that a player cannot “handle” the ball. A ball that is kicked and hits a player’s hand or arm is not a hand ball. Most players are afraid of the ball and will protect themselves from being hit with their hands. Most handballs should not be called. A deliberate attempt to alter the course of the ball by use of the hands is easy to spot and is a foul that should be called. This means that the referee must use his or her own judgment to some extent in determining whether or not a hand ball is accidental contact or a purposeful attempt to gain an advantage. Put another way, the referee must determine if the play was Ball to Hand (legal) or Hand to Ball (illegal) If hands are used and it is determined to be purposeful (illegal), then the call would be direct free kick for the other team at the site it occurred. RULE 2 - Equipment Shinguards According to FIFA, shinguards should be "covered entirely by the stockings, made of a suitable material (rubber, plastic, or similar substance), and provide a reasonable degree of protection. This leaves a lot of wiggle room! Most soccer leagues will not allow a person to play or practice soccer without shinguards. Purchasing good shinguards should be a top priority for every parent. A player must not use equipment or wear anything which is dangerous to himself or another player (including any kind of jewelry). No necklaces, earrings, nose rings, belly rings, bracelets, or tiaras. Soft "scrunchies" in the hair are generally allowed, as are soft head stockings. If a child just had their ears pieced, the studs should be covered with tape or removed. Many leagues will require that the studs be removed. As one fellow commented, is the hole going to grow back in an hour? Lastly, the goalkeeper must wear colors which distinguishes him/her from the other players, the referee, and the assistant referees. RULE 3 – Start and Restart A kick-off is the way a soccer game is started or restarted: • at the start of a game • after a goal has been scored • at the start of the second half (or each quarter in younger ages) • at the start of each period of extra time, if used According to the IHSAA, the winner of the coin toss has the choice of kicking off or which goal they defend first. The other team then gets the other option. Example, team A wins the coin toss and gets to choose goal or kickoff. If they choose kick off then team B gets choice of goal. The ball is placed in the center of the field. All players must be in their own half of the field and the opponents of the team taking the kick-off must be at least 10 yards from the ball. This distance is indicated by the center circle on the field and will vary some with age. Normally the referee will blow his/her whistle to indicate they are ready for the kickoff. The ball is in play when it is kicked and moves forward at least on revolution. Note that the two-touch rule applies here- a player cannot strike the ball twice in a row. After a team scores a goal, the kick-off is taken by the other team. The ball has to go forward one full revolution or the kick-off is retaken. RULE 4 - Throw-ins A throw-in is taken when the ball crosses a sideline and leaves the field. The ball has to completely cross the line to be considered out of bounds. The two basic soccer rules for a proper throw-in are to have both feet on the ground and to throw the ball with both hands over the head with equal force. To clarify, both feet must be on the ground when the ball is thrown. The player can hop, run, or do cartwheels up to the point where the ball is released but not when the ball is released. Dragging the toes of one foot is considered legal. For teaching purposes, it is common to allow players under the age of 8 to take more than 1 attempt for the first few games. At the moment of delivering the ball, the thrower: -faces the field of play (and normally also faces the direction in which he is going to throw the ball) -has part of each foot either on the touch line or on the ground outside the touch line (that is, the thrower’s feet may not be entirely inside the touch line) -uses both hands (many referees interpret this to mean ”with equal force”) -delivers the ball from behind and over his head The referee told players from both teams that it is a foul throw if they step on the line while taking a throw-in. What do I do as a coach? The laws say that it is a legal throw as long as all or part of both feet are on or behind the line at the time the throw is taken. With that said, the referee IS the law in this particular game and, as noted above, arguing with the referee is bad form. The two-touch rule also applies to throw-ins. A player cannot throw the ball in and then kick it. Can the team defending against a throw-in post a player near the thrower to distract or block them? Are there any tactics that are legal? Yes, up to a point. A defender may stand as close to the thrower as they want, keeping in mind that the ball hurts when it hits you in the face. The defender cannot, however, follow the thrower if he moves his permitted one meter, or jump up and down waving hands and arms, as this will be construed as unfairly distracting the thrower and may lead to a caution. RULE 5 - Corner Kicks & Goal Kicks A corner kick or goal kick is taken when the ball leaves the field across a goal line – you know, either end of the field with a goal. If the offensive team kicks it out, play is restarted with a goal kick. If the defensive team kicks it out or if it is deflected off of a defensive player (including the goalie), play is restarted with a corner kick. The goal kick is taken from the corner of the “goalie box” as it is affectionately called. It can be taken by any player, not just the goalkeeper. The “dead” ball is placed on the ground and put into play by a kick. The goalie can only use his/her hands to pick up the ball and kick or throw it when the ball comes to them during regular play. The corner kick is taken from – yes, you guessed it – the corner nearest to where the ball left the field. The “dead” ball is placed on the ground and put into play by a kick. What if the goal keeper is holding the ball and he/she crosses over the goal line? In most sports this is considered out of bounds, or in this case a goal. Unless the ball crosses the line, no goal is scored. The goal keeper can stand anywhere inside the goal mouth, as long as the ball is not over the goal line. Knowing this, please keep in mind that many youth games use a single referee who is often not in position to make the determination that the keeper’s feet were in the goal, while the ball was still on the goal line. The referee makes the call, from his/her point-of-view, meaning you’re likely not going to get too far trying to argue this call. You may be confused at times in youth soccer games to see a goal kick retaken. This is because the FIFA soccer rules state that the ball is not back “in play” until it leaves the penalty area, the large box outside of the “goalie box”. If either team touches the ball before it leaves the penalty area the kick must be retaken, and if the ball is not kicked well enough to leave the area, the kick must be retaken. The law says a corner kick is awarded when a defender last touches the ball before it goes out over his own goal line. That’s easy – but it also mentions some other circumstances. What are those? The situations referred to are when a team puts the ball in its own goal directly from one of the restarts where you can’t score against yourself. (Directly means without anyone touching the ball along the way.) These cases are treated just as if the ball had missed the goal. On a throw in you can’t score directly against either team. On a free kick, corner kick or goal kick, you can’t score directly against yourself (although you can score against the opponents, with the exception of the indirect free kick). If you put any of these into your own goal directly, the restart is a corner kick for the other team. Five offenses which are specific to goalkeepers in their own penalty areas, all of which are punishable by an indirect free kick (IFK). The keeper may not do any of the following: -take more than four steps while controlling the ball with his hands, before releasing it from his possession, -touch the ball again with his hands after it has been released from his possession and has not touched any other player, -touch the ball with his hands after it has been deliberately kicked to him by a team-mate; -touch the ball with his hands after he has received it directly from a throw-in take by a team-mate, -waste time If a goal keeper handles the ball after relinquishing possession, it is an indirect free kick. |