Soccer Goalie and Keeper Rules
Keepers have a few general rules that sometimes cause confusion for the fans. Although they are allowed the use of their hands while in the penalty area, they do have restrictions on balls played back to them by their own players. Any ball that is intentionally played back using the players feet cannot be handled by the keeper. A shot that is deflected off a player is not considered handling if no control or intention is obtained. Players can use a header to play back to the keeper but cannot use trickery to do so. By trickery I mean, a player cannot volley the ball off of their feet into the air to header the ball back to the keeper. In the event that a ball is handled by a keeper, the opposing team is awarded an indirect kick and not a penalty kick.
Keepers are required to return the ball to play by either punting, or throwing, within 6 seconds of making a save or recovering a loose ball inside the penalty area. Usually the referee will warn the keeper if he/she exceeds the 6 seconds. Opponents are not allowed to interfere with the keeper in this situation.
A new rule that has come into play in the last couple of years is the drop ball by a referee to a keeper. In situations that normally would have had the keeper place the ball on the ground to restart play, the referee can use a drop ball which allows the keeper to pick up the dropped ball and then punt or throw out. This is a slight rule change that has been covered in all of the referee recertification classes ( yes, they test annually). Interpretations and applications may be inconsistent for awhile. We have all seen where the keeper makes a save but is interfered by or collides with an opponent. The disadvantage used to go to the keeper who, because of the whistled infraction had to place the ball on the ground instead of punting it. A punted ball was never an allowed restart, and technically still isn't. So if you see the referee go to the keeper take the ball and then drop it in front of the keeper, that is an example of the new rule. It does add some fairness to the game. For someone who isn't aware of this rule it may seem comical for the referee to go take the ball from the keeper and drop it to the ground and walk away, only to see the keeper pick it back up and punt it.
