[Image: Chris Simpson]
Football Queensland is continuing its look at the updated Laws of the Game ahead of their application to Queensland’s community football competitions from 2017.
The International Football Association Board (IFAB), an independent association responsible for formulating the Laws of the Game, announced its reforms earlier this year.
We asked State Referees Development Officer David Wiebe to explain some of the latest changes.
LAW 11 | Offside
11.5 Position of free-kick
David Wiebe: “The new Laws have cleared up some of the confusion around the offside law and the position of free-kicks. The new text now means that when the ball is played, and you are in an offside position, the moment you touch the ball is when the offence occurs and that’s where the indirect free-kick will be taken. In other words, if you come back into your own half to get the ball, and you were in an offside position when the ball was played to you, then wherever you touch it is where the indirect free-kick will occur – including in your own half.”
LAW 12 | Fouls and Misconduct
12.13 Violent conduct – no contact
David Wiebe: “The major word in the change to this law is “attempts” – you can now be dismissed from the field of play for throwing a punch without hitting anyone or making contact.”
LAW 12 | Fouls and Misconduct
12.13 Violent conduct – contact with the head/face
David Wiebe: “Additional text to the law clarifies that a player who deliberately hits/strikes an opponent on the head/face (when not challenging for the ball) should be sent off, unless the force used was negligible.”
LAW 12 | Fouls and Misconduct
Handling the ball
David Wiebe: “Hearing constant screams for handball would have to be the most annoying part of being a referee. In 2017, the new law states that “handling the ball involves a deliberate act of a player making contact with the ball with the hand or the arm” and includes five considerations:
- The movement of the hand towards the ball (not the ball towards the hand)
- The distance between the opponent and the ball (eg if a ball is kicked at a player does he have time to move his hand out of the way)
- The position of the hand does not necessarily mean that there is an infringement
- Touching the ball with an object held in the hand (ie clothing or shin pads ETC)
- Hitting the ball with a thrown object is an infringement (ie a boot or a shin pad)
“It couldn’t be any clearer. There needs to be a deliberate movement of the hand towards the ball for a referee to consider handball. It also means that if the player has his hands in an unnatural position then the referee can consider giving a handball. However, if a player kicks the ball from less then two metres away from a another player and it hits his hands then it is NOT handball.”
Read up on all the latest changes to the Laws of the Game or brush up on the document in full.
