SOCCER-COACH Questions and answers on the Laws of the Game 1998 i ote on photocopying: all copyrighted material contained in these pages (including the thumbnail sketches of the Laws, the commentaries on or discussions of the Laws, and the Questions and Answers) may be copied and distributed subject to the following restrictions: no fee of any kind may be charged for the material; all copied material must clearly identify its source and contain the statement on copyright shown below. ii © 1998 jointly in the following individuals: Jim Geissman, David Graham, Jim MacQueen, Connie Matthies, Jim Meinhold, Chris Mohr, Gary Rue, Ken Smith, Dave Teetz, Ron Tremper, who are together known pseudonymously as the SOCCER-COACH-L LOTG COLLECTIVE iii Table of Contents PREFACE 1 BACKGROUND 1 CONTENTS 1 PURPOSE 1 LAW 1 - THE FIELD OF PLAY 3 THUMBAIL 3 COMMETARY 3 QUESTIOS O LAW 1 4 1.01: How can I be sure the field is safe? 4 1.02: What if it's snowing or raining? 4 1.03: Is it true that someone was actually killed recently when a goal fell over? 4 1.04: What if the cross bar becomes displaced or damaged? 5 1.05: There's no netting in the goals, or the netting isn't attached at the bottom or at the sides. Is this a problem? 5 1.06 : Since the Laws permit so much variation in field sizes, what are some approximately "normal" dimensions? 5 1.07: I saw a referee remove the corner flags from a field recently after she inspected it before the game. Why would she do this? Aren't the flags required? 5 1.08: We play small sided soccer (6v6, 7v7, 8v8) with very young players (6-12 years old); what size should our field be? 6 1.09: You mean the penalty arc is there just to make sure all players are a certain distance from the ball when a penalty is taken? 6 1.10: What's the purpose of the line dividing the field into two equal halves? 6 1.11: What are the regulation measurements of the areas marked out on the field? 6 1.12: Snow has covered the field, how do we see the lines? 7 1.13: The field we are playing on is very hard (or soft), what shoes should the players wear? 7 LAW 2 - THE BALL 7 THUMBAIL 7 COMMETARY 7 QUESTIOS ABOUT THE BALL 8 2.01 Why do soccer balls have those multi-colored panels? Because picking up the spin is very important to good play. 8 2.02 How can I tell if my ball is properly inflated without a gauge? 8 iv 2.03 How can I tell if my ball is round? 8 2.04 We were awarded a penalty in a recent game. When our player took the penalty kick, the ball burst, and even though the deflated ball went into the net, the referee made him retake the kick. He couldn't stop laughing and missed his second attempt, and we ended up losing the game. Was the ref right? It doesn't seem fair. 9 2.05 We don't have any FIFA approved balls; is it OK to use the ones we have? 9 2.06 Are there any types of balls that I should specifically avoid using? 9 2.07 Sometimes as coach, either I or the opposing coach have become dissatisfied with the game ball, either before or during the game. What rights, if any, do coaches or players have to get the game ball changed to a different ball? 9 LAW 3 - THE UMBER OF PLAYERS 11 COMMETARY 11 QUESTIOS O LAW 3 12 3.01 I wanted to send on a substitute while my players were preparing to take a corner-kick, but the referee said no. What's going on? 12 3.02 I just counted my players and realized we have one too few on the field. Play has already started -- what should I do? 12 3.03 I just counted my players and realized we have one too many on the field. Play has already started -- what should I do? 12 3.04 My goalkeeper has been injured and has had to come out of the game (or has been sent off) -- how do I replace her? 13 3.05 Can my goalkeeper switch places during the game with one of the other players? 13 3.06 How do I get the referee's permission to send on a substitute? 13 3.07 We allow unlimited substitutions, and the other coach is making so many subs that I think he's trying to 'run out the clock' because it's late in the game and they're ahead by a goal. What can I do? 13 3.08 We're ahead by a goal, and the other team must want to lose, because it looks as though they're deliberately trying to get players sent off so as to have the match terminated once they have fewer than 7 players on the field -- can I do anything? We have to win by at least two goals to have any hope of advancing. 13 3.09 I was yelling some instructions to my team during a match and the assistant referee told me I could only give them "tactical instructions" and that I had to stay by the bench. Just how much coaching can I do during a game, anyway? 14 3.10 I heard that a substitute can be sent off without ever getting on the field -- is that possible? 14 3.11 The referee sent one of our players off during the half-time interval for spitting at an opponent, and he wouldn't let us replace that player even though the offense happened before the kick-off for the second half. What's going on? 14 LAW 4 - THE PLAYERS' EQUIPMET 15 THUMBAIL 15 COMMETARY 15 v QUESTIOS O LAW 4 15 4.01 What kind of shoes should my players wear? 15 4.02 My son says he wants something called "6-stud cleats". What's he talking about? Should I let him have them? 16 4.03 Are there any kinds of shoes which should not be worn? 16 4.04 What kind of uniforms should we buy? 16 4.05 The referee told our keeper that he had to change his jersey. We didn't understand why -- it's bright yellow, and we were wearing an all-blue strip. 17 4.06 Does Law 4 restrict our outfield players' choice of jerseys, shorts and so forth? 17 4.07 I heard that the Laws do not actually require players' uniforms to be numbered -- is that right? 17 4.08 Do either the LOTG themselves or local rules allow players to add any special clothing to their uniforms, such as long pants, when the weather is cold or bad? 18 4.09 One of my players was told by the referee to remove a hair band that the referee in the previous game had allowed her to wear. Why the inconsistency? 18 4.10 One of my players has a cast on his arm. Can he play with it on, if it's well wrapped in foam and padding? 18 4.11 What's the situation with jewelry? Can players tape over it, or do they have to remove it altogether? Referees seem to have different standards about this. 19 4.12 One of my players was told by the referee that his shinguards were not proper ones and that he had to replace them. It turned out that he had forgotten his shinguards and had put cardboard in his socks. Isn't that his own responsibility, though, and not the referee's? 19 LAW 5 - THE REFEREE 21 THUMBAIL 21 COMMETARY 21 QUESTIOS O LAW 5 21 5.01 What is the advantage rule? 21 5.02 Okay, that's the technical definition. Can you give an example? 21 5.03 How do I know when advantage has been applied? 22 5.04 The referee said, "Play on, advantage," but then stopped play. Why? 22 5.05 The referee uses advantage sometimes, but usually he just awards free kicks. How does he decide which way to do it? 22 5.06 Some referees blow the whistle for every little thing, while others let some pretty physical play go. Why? 23 5.07 This referee is very slow to blow the whistle. Isn't that bad practice? 23 5.08 I asked the referee about a call he made, and in reply he mentioned some Laws that I can't find in the book. What's going on? 23 5.09 Usually there's only one referee for our games, and he doesn't always see when the ball goes over a line. How can we help him? 24 5.10 My son, who was lining our game, saw a foul and waved his flag. The referee saw him, but told him to put the flag down. Why did he ignore his assistant? 24 vi 5.11 The other team's supporters became very angry and abusive, and the referee terminated the game. We were ahead at the time, but the referee wouldn't say that we won. Why not? 24 5.12 Why doesn't the referee explain his calls? An American football referee has an extensive repertoire of signals. 24 5.13 The referee awarded my team a free kick. Then he saw the linesman's flag up, talked with him, and then awarded the other team a throw in.