4

OK, think about this - A player in the middle of a match flicks the ball up then when its in the air, he stretches his shirt on the bottom for the ball to enter inside his shirt. Now its inside his shirt.

Can he score a ball like that? I mean, I don't think there's a rule that disallows it.

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6

This is not allowed. Although there is no specific rule that disallows it, it falls under the "handling of the ball" action and is illegal. FIFA makes this clear in the notes on Law 12: Fouls and Misconduct.

You can find the following text on page 121 of the Laws of the Game:

Handling the ball involves a deliberate act of a player making contact with the ball with his hand or arm. The referee must take the following into consideration:

  • the movement of the hand towards the ball (not the ball towards the hand)
  • the distance between the opponent and the ball (unexpected ball)
  • the position of the hand does not necessarily mean that there is an infringement
  • touching the ball with an object held in the hand (clothing, shinguard, etc.) counts as an infringement
  • hitting the ball with a thrown object (boot, shinguard, etc.) counts as an infringement

The fourth bullet point (in bold) would preclude a player from stretching out their clothing to catch or touch the ball in some way. A deliberate handling of the ball leads to a restart of play by direct kick for the opposing team. Since it was a deliberate act, the player may receive a yellow card for unsporting behavior.

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  • 2
    -1: "since it was a deliberate act, the player would receive a yellow card." The conclusion is correct, but the reasoning is not. Deliberate handling is only a direct free kick offence. The caution would be for unsporting behaviour, for "acts in a manner which shows a lack of respect for the game" (p. 125, 2015/16 FIFA Laws of the Game), not because it was a deliberate act. If it wasn't a deliberate act, there wouldn't even be a free kick. – Reinstate Monica 2331977 Apr 23 '16 at 5:19
  • It also would be pertinent to state in the answer how play is restarted. – Reinstate Monica 2331977 Apr 23 '16 at 5:22
  • @studro - A fair point. I've changed the wording in my post. – Duncan Apr 25 '16 at 18:27
  • I still have problems with the "deliberate act" justification for the caution. – Reinstate Monica 2331977 Apr 30 '16 at 0:56
  • youtu.be/G-ZG7VAAvkU – Yaakov Ainspan May 3 '16 at 15:43

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