Jim Allen
National Instructor Trainer

Game management consists of many factors, including providing both sides with an equal opportunity to play fairly under the Laws. A "free kick" should be just that, free from interference by the opposing team. Over time, players have found many ways to delay the opponents from taking the kick quickly, without actually kicking or throwing the ball away. Referees should be familiar the most obvious methods and deal with them accordingly.

Many referees do not seem to understand that nowhere in the Laws of the Game is there any suggestion that the offending team has the right to build a "wall" to defend against the free kick. Law 12 gives the referee the authority to caution and show the yellow card to a player who fails to respect the required distance when play is restarted with a comer kick or free kick (including a penalty kick). The need to retire to the required distance is spelled out under Laws 13, 14, and 17, and means that the opponents must retire immediately to at least 10 yards away from the spot of the corner kick or free kick or, in the case of the penalty kick, behind the penalty mark and outside the penalty area (including the penalty arc). The only time an opponent is permitted to be closer than this minimum distance is the indirect free kick given to the attacking team within 10 yards of the opponents' goal, when the defending team may be on their own goal line between the goal posts. Neither Law 12 nor Laws 13 or 17 require the referee to caution the player who fails to respect the required distance until the ball is in play. Under Law 14, the referee is even encouraged to wait for a repetition of the offense before cautioning a player. It is largely a matter for the discretion of the referee, and this is where many referees invite trouble for themselves.

The defending team will usually disguise its strategy by simply setting up a wall between 5 and 6 yards away from the kick and hope the referee will do nothing more than move them back to only 8 or so yards away, the common distance given by too many referees. Many teams use other methods in failing to respect the required distance. Too many of them get away with it and prevent their opponents from getting their fair restart. Unfortunately, many referees aid and abet in the process by failing to deal with these tactics. Here are some of those other methods used to disguise the strategy or to distract the referee:

One way is to stand near the kicker, appearing to console him for the lost opportunity or to apologize for the actions of a teammate or to be a peace maker. We also see the "good sport," who helps his opponent up and then "apologizes" for his own actions, rather than moving away quickly so that the offended team can take its free kick. Another player might appear to want to be the kicker's or the offended player's "friend," anxiously ensuring that everything is all right. This hanging around means that the player's team has had plenty of time to set up a defense for the free kick that will eventually follow.

Another method is simply to move away very slowly from the spot of the restart, hoping the referee will not punish them because they are indeed moving away.

We also see the "traffic cop," who stands behind or near the kicker, setting up the defensive wall, but does not retreat the required distance until directed by the referee. Many referees fail to move the "traffic cop" away because he is not "in front of the ball," forgetting that the required distance covers the entire 360 degrees around the ball and that the kicker might wish to kick the ball somewhere other than directly forward. The player who fails to respect the required distance is likely well aware of this option for the kicker and wants to prevent its use. In addition, this player may vary the tactic by accomplishing his arrangement of his teammates and then running in past the kicker after the whistle but before the kick. Another variation of this tactic is the "casual stroller," who waits until the kicker is ready and then simply walks in front of the ball on his way to a "legal" position.

The best way to prevent this from happening is to act at the first opportunity to stamp it out. A caution is probably called for at the very first occurrence, especially if the opponents are setting their wall so close to the free kick that no one could doubt the tactic is deliberate. A quiet word is not sufficient. The referee must blow the whistle hard and give a caution and a strong verbal admonition to the player involved. This will alert everyone that the referee will not put up with this sort of gamesmanship. If it happens again, in any of its forms, the referee must again act quickly and decisively with a caution for the player who fails to respect the required distance at a comer kick or free kick.

When acting on a team's failure to respect the required distance, whether it is to caution a player or simply administer a stem talkingto, the referee's first action should be to signal both verbally and visually to the kicking team that the kick must not be taken without a signal from the referee. The referee must let the kicking team know that the kick is now ceremonial in nature. By acting authoritatively from the outset, the referee can make his or her job much easier later in the game and easier for other referees in future matches.