What kind of offence, and against whom?
Every question in this scenario
The Restart location investigation scenario asks 9 questions and can reach 17 decisions. A walk answers only the ones its own answers lead to. This is the whole set, for reference and for revision.
1What kind of offence, and against whom?
With the ball out of play the offence is dealt with by a card alone, and the restart is whatever the stoppage was already heading for.
Answers: A physical offence on the field of play, ball in play · Something said, ball in play · An offence off the field of play · An object was thrown or kicked, ball in play · Blocking or impeding an opponent, ball in play · The ball was out of play at the time · A dangerous action with no contact, such as a high foot · Holding or grappling in the box before a restart is taken
2Against whom?
Law 12 splits the restart on who the offence was against, and the split is not the one people expect.
Answers: An opponent · A team-mate, substitute, team official or match official · An outside agent
3Against whom, and by whom?
Two of the three are located by the offence, on the nearest boundary line. The third is a dropped ball.
Answers: An opponent, someone from their team, or a match official · By a player against someone of their own team · Against an outside agent
4Who threw or kicked it, and at what?
Pick the first that fits. An object is located where it struck or would have struck; the match ball thrown at an opponent is not, which is why it comes first.
Answers: The match ball, thrown or kicked at an opponent · A player threw or kicked it at someone, or at the ball · Someone off the field threw an object onto the field · A player played the ball with an object held in the hand
5Did the offence happen off the field of play?
The object clause excludes the match ball thrown or kicked at an opposing player, so this is judged as any other offence against an opponent.
Answers: Yes · No
6Did the player move into the opponent's path, or stand where they already were?
Law 12 prints this as its own provision: all players have a right to their position, and being in the way is not the same as moving into the way.
Answers: Moved into the opponent's path · Stood where they already were
7Was the ball within playing distance of either player?
The distance reaches either player, not only the one being blocked.
Answers: Yes · No
8Was the opponent held off with the arms or body?
Law 12 grants the shielding permission on two conditions, and this is the second. Holding an opponent is a direct free kick offence however it is committed.
Answers: Yes · No
9Was contact made?
A player entitled to stand where they stood did not move into anybody's path.
Answers: Yes · No
Every decision it can reach
Each one is where a walk ends, with the reasoning it prints. The clause behind a decision is cited on the decision itself, which you reach by walking to it.
An indirect or direct free kick, or a penalty kick
A physical offence inside the field of play against an opponent gives an indirect or direct free kick or a penalty kick, and which of the three comes from the offence itself rather than from this clause: the fouls ladder decides it. This is the ordinary case, and of the two halves of this split it is the only one that can produce an indirect free kick, since a physical offence against anyone else is always direct. Elsewhere in the same section indirect free kicks are everywhere: every verbal offence is one, and so is an offence off the field against your own side. A player whose offence denied an opponent a goal or an obvious goal-scoring opportunity is sent off, and one whose offence stopped a promising attack is cautioned. Where a penalty kick is awarded for an offence that was an attempt to play the ball or a challenge for it, the denial is a caution instead and the promising attack no card. If the referee played the advantage instead, there is no free kick, and a caution or sending-off is issued when the ball is next out of play; a denied goal-scoring opportunity is then a caution, or no sanction where a goal is scored from the advantage, and a stopped promising attack is not cautioned.
A direct free kick, or a penalty kick
A physical offence inside the field of play against a team-mate, substitute, substituted or sent-off player, team official or a match official gives a direct free kick or a penalty kick. Always direct, with no indirect option, which is the part worth knowing: striking your own team-mate concedes a direct free kick to the opposition, and inside your own penalty area it concedes a penalty. A player whose offence denied an opponent a goal or an obvious goal-scoring opportunity is sent off, and one whose offence stopped a promising attack is cautioned. If the referee played the advantage instead, there is no free kick, and a caution or sending-off is issued when the ball is next out of play; a denied goal-scoring opportunity is then a caution, or no sanction where a goal is scored from the advantage, and a stopped promising attack is not cautioned.
Dropped ball, unless the player left the field to do it
If the referee stops play for an offence committed by a player, inside or outside the field of play, against an outside agent, play is restarted with a dropped ball, unless an indirect free kick is awarded for leaving the field of play without the referee's permission, in which case the indirect free kick is taken from the point on the boundary line where the player left. So the restart turns on whether the player left the field without permission, rather than on what they did.
Indirect free kick
All verbal offences are penalised with an indirect free kick. One sentence, so abuse of an official, dissent, and verbally distracting an opponent all restart the same way however serious the card that goes with them. It is also why a verbal offence in the penalty area never produces a penalty kick. Against an outside agent, Ruleside reads Law 12's outside-agent rule as the one that governs, since it names the target: a dropped ball, or an indirect free kick from where the player left the field if they left it without permission. Off the field of play, the kick is taken on the nearest boundary line. A player whose offence denied an opponent a goal or an obvious goal-scoring opportunity is sent off, and one whose offence stopped a promising attack is cautioned. If the referee played the advantage instead, there is no free kick, and a caution or sending-off is issued when the ball is next out of play; a denied goal-scoring opportunity is then a caution, or no sanction where a goal is scored from the advantage, and a stopped promising attack is not cautioned.
On the nearest boundary line, and a penalty if that is inside their own area
Where the ball is in play and a player commits an offence outside the field of play against a match official or an opposing player, substitute, substituted or sent-off player or team official, or where a substitute, substituted or sent-off player or team official commits an offence against, or interferes with, an opposing player or match official outside the field, play is restarted with a free kick on the boundary line nearest to where it occurred. For direct free kick offences a penalty kick is awarded if that point is within the offender's penalty area, which is how an offence committed entirely off the pitch can produce a penalty. A player whose offence denied an opponent a goal or an obvious goal-scoring opportunity is sent off, and one whose offence stopped a promising attack is cautioned. Where a penalty kick is awarded for an offence that was an attempt to play the ball or a challenge for it, the denial is a caution instead and the promising attack no card. If the referee played the advantage instead, there is no free kick, and a caution or sending-off is issued when the ball is next out of play; a denied goal-scoring opportunity is then a caution, or no sanction where a goal is scored from the advantage, and a stopped promising attack is not cautioned.
Indirect free kick on the nearest boundary line
If an offence is committed outside the field of play by a player against a player, substitute, substituted player or team official of their own team, play is restarted with an indirect free kick on the boundary line closest to where the offence occurred. Note the difference from the same offence committed on the field, which gives a direct free kick: off the field against your own side it is indirect, and there is no penalty limb at all. A player whose offence denied an opponent a goal or an obvious goal-scoring opportunity is sent off, and one whose offence stopped a promising attack is cautioned. If the referee played the advantage instead, there is no free kick, and a caution or sending-off is issued when the ball is next out of play; a denied goal-scoring opportunity is then a caution, or no sanction where a goal is scored from the advantage, and a stopped promising attack is not cautioned.
Direct free kick where the object struck, or would have
If a player on or off the field throws or kicks an object other than the match ball at an opposing player, or throws or kicks an object including a ball at an opposing substitute, substituted or sent-off player, team official, a match official or the match ball, play is restarted with a direct free kick from the position where the object struck or would have struck the person or the ball. If that position is off the field the kick is taken on the nearest point on the boundary line, and a penalty kick is awarded if it is within the offender's penalty area. Would have struck is the phrase that matters: a miss is located the same way as a hit. The card follows the shared ladder, a caution for unsporting behaviour if reckless and a sending-off for violent conduct if excessive force was used. A player whose offence denied an opponent a goal or an obvious goal-scoring opportunity is sent off, and one whose offence stopped a promising attack is cautioned. Where a penalty kick is awarded for an offence that was an attempt to play the ball or a challenge for it, the denial is a caution instead and the promising attack no card. If the referee played the advantage instead, there is no free kick, and a caution or sending-off is issued when the ball is next out of play; a denied goal-scoring opportunity is then a caution, or no sanction where a goal is scored from the advantage, and a stopped promising attack is not cautioned.
Direct free kick, if it interfered
If a substitute, substituted or sent-off player, a player temporarily off the field, or a team official throws or kicks an object onto the field of play and it interferes with play, an opponent or a match official, play is restarted with a direct free kick, or a penalty kick, where the object interfered with play or struck or would have struck the opponent, match official or the ball. Interference is the condition here where it is not for a player throwing at somebody: an object landing on the pitch and affecting nothing gives no restart. If the referee played the advantage instead, there is no free kick, and a caution or sending-off is issued when the ball is next out of play; a denied goal-scoring opportunity is then a caution, or no sanction where a goal is scored from the advantage, and a stopped promising attack is not cautioned.
Direct free kick, or a penalty kick
If a player makes contact with the ball with an object held in the hand, a boot or shinguard for example, play is restarted with a direct free kick or a penalty kick. It is worth separating from handball: the offence is the object rather than the hand, so it does not go through Law 12's handball test at all and none of the arm-position reasoning applies. A player whose offence denied an opponent a goal or an obvious goal-scoring opportunity is sent off, and one whose offence stopped a promising attack is cautioned. Where a penalty kick is awarded for an offence that was an attempt to play the ball or a challenge for it, the denial is a caution instead and the promising attack no card. If the referee played the advantage instead, there is no free kick, and a caution or sending-off is issued when the ball is next out of play; a denied goal-scoring opportunity is then a caution, or no sanction where a goal is scored from the advantage, and a stopped promising attack is not cautioned.
Holding: a direct free kick, or a penalty kick in the offender's own area
The permission to shield is granted on two conditions and this walk failed the second. A player may take a position between an opponent and the ball if the ball is within playing distance and the opponent is not held off with the arms or body. Ruleside reads using an arm or the body to keep the opponent away as holding, which Law 12 puts on its direct free kick list without qualification, so the distance that made the shield legal does nothing for it. The restart is a direct free kick where the offence occurred, and a penalty kick where the offence occurred inside the offender's own penalty area. What the opponent may do instead is charge fairly, which is the remedy the same clause gives while the ball is within playing distance. Off the field of play, the kick is taken on the nearest boundary line, and it is a penalty kick if that point is within the offender's penalty area. A player whose offence denied an opponent a goal or an obvious goal-scoring opportunity is sent off, and one whose offence stopped a promising attack is cautioned. Where a penalty kick is awarded for an offence that was an attempt to play the ball or a challenge for it, the denial is a caution instead and the promising attack no card. If the referee played the advantage instead, there is no free kick, and a caution or sending-off is issued when the ball is next out of play; a denied goal-scoring opportunity is then a caution, or no sanction where a goal is scored from the advantage, and a stopped promising attack is not cautioned.
Shielding, and it is allowed
A player may shield the ball by taking a position between an opponent and the ball if the ball is within playing distance and the opponent is not held off with the arms or body, and if the ball is within playing distance the player may be fairly charged by an opponent. So distance is what separates shielding from impeding: with the ball in playing distance it is shielding, and the remedy available to the opponent is a fair charge rather than a free kick.
Direct free kick, or a penalty kick
Impeding an opponent with contact is on Law 12's list of offences that are a direct free kick however they are committed, so inside the offender's penalty area it is a penalty kick. The contact is the whole of the difference: the same movement without it is an indirect free kick, and this is the pair a rules page in this library once had the wrong way round. Off the field of play, the kick is taken on the nearest boundary line, and it is a penalty kick if that point is within the offender's penalty area. A player whose offence denied an opponent a goal or an obvious goal-scoring opportunity is sent off, and one whose offence stopped a promising attack is cautioned. Where a penalty kick is awarded for an offence that was an attempt to play the ball or a challenge for it, the denial is a caution instead and the promising attack no card. If the referee played the advantage instead, there is no free kick, and a caution or sending-off is issued when the ball is next out of play; a denied goal-scoring opportunity is then a caution, or no sanction where a goal is scored from the advantage, and a stopped promising attack is not cautioned.
Indirect free kick
Impeding the progress of an opponent without any contact being made is an indirect free kick offence. Two conditions have to hold together: the ball was not within playing distance of either player, and the player moved into the opponent's path rather than merely being in it. Off the field of play, the kick is taken on the nearest boundary line. A player whose offence denied an opponent a goal or an obvious goal-scoring opportunity is sent off, and one whose offence stopped a promising attack is cautioned. If the referee played the advantage instead, there is no free kick, and a caution or sending-off is issued when the ball is next out of play; a denied goal-scoring opportunity is then a caution, or no sanction where a goal is scored from the advantage, and a stopped promising attack is not cautioned.
No offence: a player is entitled to the position they are in
Law 12 defines impeding as moving into an opponent's path to obstruct, block, slow down or force a change of direction when the ball is not within playing distance of either player, and then prints the other half as a provision of its own: all players have a right to their position on the field of play, and being in the way of an opponent is not the same as moving into the way of an opponent. A player who holds the ground he was already on has not impeded anybody, and Ruleside reads that as true however much contact follows from it: contact is what separates the direct free kick from the indirect one once impeding is established, and it does not establish it. Law 12's other contact offences each need an act of their own, so a player who neither pushes, holds nor charges has committed none of them either. Where this decides a goal, Law 10 takes one away only if the scoring team committed an offence, so a goal scored while a team-mate stood still in front of the goalkeeper stands.
Restarted according to the previous decision
Direct and indirect free kicks and penalty kicks can only be awarded for offences committed when the ball is in play, and if the ball is out of play, play is restarted according to the previous decision. So a punch thrown while the ball is out of play changes nothing about the restart: the throw-in or goal kick that was already coming is still what happens, and the offence is answered by the card alone.
Indirect free kick: playing in a dangerous manner
Playing in a dangerous manner is any action that, while trying to play the ball, threatens injury to someone, including the player themself, and it includes preventing a nearby opponent from playing the ball for fear of injury. The opening condition is doing the work: while trying to play the ball is what separates this from a challenge or from violent conduct. The absence of contact is not written into the definition, which never mentions it, but Law 12 supplies it a page earlier in its own words: if an offence involves contact, it is penalised by a direct free kick, and this offence is on the indirect free kick list. So a high foot that connects has left this branch and is judged on the careless, reckless and excessive force ladder. A scissors or bicycle kick is permissible provided that it is not dangerous to an opponent, so the kick itself is not the offence; the danger is. Off the field of play, the kick is taken on the nearest boundary line. A player whose offence denied an opponent a goal or an obvious goal-scoring opportunity is sent off, and one whose offence stopped a promising attack is cautioned. If the referee played the advantage instead, there is no free kick, and a caution or sending-off is issued when the ball is next out of play; a denied goal-scoring opportunity is then a caution, or no sanction where a goal is scored from the advantage, and a stopped promising attack is not cautioned.
A warning, then a caution, and a penalty kick only once the ball is in play
The guidelines remind referees to intervene early and deal firmly with holding, especially inside the penalty area at corner kicks and free kicks, and they set out a three-step ladder for it. The referee must warn any player holding an opponent before the ball is in play, caution the player if the holding continues before the ball is in play, and award a direct free kick or penalty kick and caution the player if it happens once the ball is in play. Underneath that sits the rule that settles the argument: direct and indirect free kicks and penalty kicks can only be awarded for offences committed when the ball is in play, so grappling that finishes before the corner is delivered can never be a penalty kick however blatant it was. Holding is on the list of offences that are a direct free kick however they are committed, so it carries no careless or reckless threshold, and the Laws define it narrowly: a holding offence occurs only when a player's contact with an opponent's body or equipment impedes the opponent's movement.