Top Misunderstood Referee Calls
Handball Offence
To determine a handball offence: A) was it deliberate, B) did the player's hand hit the ball (foul) or did the ball hit the hand, C) did the player try to avoid it, D) player's distance from where it was kicked, E) did the player make them self bigger, stretching their arms out, raising their hands etc., not in a natural position.
Offside Calls
Offside, not offsides. One tends to watch a player kick the ball, then look to see if the player receiving it, is offside. The player must be in the offside position when the ball is played or touched by his teammate. If it is played by an opponent, there is NO OFFSIDE. If it is played or touched by a teammate and deflects off an opponent, and was never possessed or controlled by that opponent, it is offside. If the offside player comes onside to retrieve the ball after it is played or touched by a teammate, it is OFFSIDE, even if he returns to his own half of the field to retrieve it. He was in an OFFSIDE position when the ball was kicked. The IDFK takes place from where the offense ocurred.
There is no offside directly off of a throw-in or corner kick.
Out of Play (Out of Bounds)
The ball is only out of bounds when it " wholly" crosses a touch line or goal line. Even if a ¼” of the ball has not passed the plane, (wholly over the outside plane/edge of the line), on the ground or in the air, the ball is still in play. You should "see grass or dirt" between the ball and the white touchlines edge. Where the bottom of the ball touches does not matter. The ball is out of bounds from the person it touched last, not the last person to kick it. The throw in goes to the opposing team.
Illegal Throw-Ins
Throw-ins must be performed properly whether they go in play or not. If the throw in is performed properly but does NOT go in play, then it is a retake. If the throw-in is not performed properly, whether or not it goes in play, the throw-in goes to the opponent. You do not get a free ride just because it never went in. The ball is in play when it breaks the outside plane of the line, in the air or when it hits the ground.
Goalkeeper Handling & Playing
A keeper can come out of the penalty area, just not with the ball in his hands. Goalkeepers are also a player on the field. They can go anywhere on the field they want. Goalkeeper handling is only when the goalkeeper touches the ball after it is wholly over their own Penalty Area line. It is the ball, not the goalkeeper that determines handling. On punts, as long as a goalkeeper releases the ball before it is wholly over the line, they can exit the penalty area to kick the ball. Even if the ball may have been slightly over the line, and it looks like it may/may not still have been in the goalkeeper’s hands, it is considered trifling. Now, if the goalkeeper is completely over the penalty area line (like both feet) with the ball in their hands, that is deliberate handling, and is a DFK-Direct Free Kick for the opponent. The ball is placed wholly outside the Penalty Area line.
Deliberate Pass-back to the Goalkeeper
The whole purpose of this law, passed in 1992, was to prevent time wasting. Players would repeatedly pass the ball to their keeper who would pick it up then throw it to their teammate who would then pass it back to the keeper again for it to be picked up. It has to be a Deliberate Pass-back for an offense to be called. A deflection off a teammate or a mis-kick that unintentionally goes to the keeper is not a violation of the pass-back law. If you clearly see a teammate pass it to their goalkeeper or stop the ball, then let their goalkeeper pick it up, then call it. Not sure, don't call it. If it is an offense, then the restart is an IDFK where the offense occurred. Except if it was in the goal area. The ball would then be moved out to the goal area line.