Soccer/football question: Corner kick scoring oddities

[Alive_At_Both_Ends]

@Colophon

I was surprised to see from that FIFA link that a goal can only be scored “against the opposition” from a goal kick - an own goal direct from the goal kick would not count.

I think that follows logically from the requirement that the ball be kicked into play beyond the penalty area.

[Ludovic]

@Alive At Both Ends

I think that follows logically from the requirement that the ball be kicked into play beyond the penalty area.

What if you stomp on it to give it enough English to spin backwards into your own goal after crossing the penalty area?

[Alive_At_Both_Ends]

@Ludovic

What if you stomp on it to give it enough English to spin backwards into your own goal after crossing the penalty area?

Um. I think it’d be interesting to see if anyone could actually do this. Maybe if you were kicking into a gale-force wind?

[Chez_Guevara]

I don’t. But I’ve read about it.

In the 1955 Scottish Cup Final, Archie Robertson of Clyde scored direct from a corner to level the game at 1-1 and force a replay, which they won. Robertson’s goal was at least partially attributed to the Hampden Swirl.

What localised conditions in the stadium caused this swirl?

[Don_t_Panic]

@Colophon

I was surprised to see from that FIFA link that a goal can only be scored “against the opposition” from a goal kick - an own goal direct from the goal kick would not count.

However, believe it or not, the goalkeeper scoring an own goal from a *throw *seems to be OK and actually possible, if your goalie is a real Butterfingers McBlooper. Legendary Norwegian goalkeeper Bjarte Flem throws the ball into his own goal (the goal is shown just after the two doofuses are done talking in the beginning of the video). Also see the Wikipedia article .

[Don_t_Panic]

Actually, that situation I linked to wasn’t actually one where the ball was being put into played after crossing the line… in that case, I suppose it might not have counted.

Still, pretty weird stuff.

[DSYoungEsq]

@Alive At Both Ends

The youths were right and you are wrong. FIFA’s website states clearly (Law 16) that a goal *can *be scored directly from a goal kick. I’ve seen this done.

The youths were NOT right. The time frame was before 1997. However, my apologies. The law has been changed. In 1997, the law was modified to allow the scoring of a goal direct from the goal kick. I haven’t refereed since then.

[DSYoungEsq]

@Peak Banana

However, believe it or not, the goalkeeper scoring an own goal from a *throw *seems to be OK and actually possible, if your goalie is a real Butterfingers McBlooper. Legendary Norwegian goalkeeper Bjarte Flem throws the ball into his own goal (the goal is shown just after the two doofuses are done talking in the beginning of the video). Also see the Wikipedia article .

When the keeper is throwing the ball, he is not restarting play.

The laws were updated over the last decade or so to make quite clear certain aspects of what restarts could result in what types of goals. As already noted, one change allowed goals from goal kicks, apparently, but only against the opposition. Another change was the modification of Law XVII to preclude scoring against yourself from a corner kick, which, admittedly, would have to be one hell of a weird corner kick.

[DSYoungEsq]

@Peak Banana

However, believe it or not, the goalkeeper scoring an own goal from a *throw *seems to be OK and actually possible, if your goalie is a real Butterfingers McBlooper. Legendary Norwegian goalkeeper Bjarte Flem throws the ball into his own goal (the goal is shown just after the two doofuses are done talking in the beginning of the video). Also see the Wikipedia article .

When the keeper is throwing the ball, he is not restarting play.

The laws were updated over the last decade or so to make quite clear certain aspects of what restarts could result in what types of goals. As already noted, one change allowed goals from goal kicks, apparently, but only against the opposition. Another change was the modification of Law XVII to preclude scoring against yourself from a corner kick, which, admittedly, would have to be one hell of a weird corner kick.

[chowder]

@Really Not All That Bright

Bruce Grobbelaar (sic?) once scored off a goal kick for Liverpool in a Premiership (or more likely, First Division, back then) match sometime around 1990.

I believe that Pat Jennings, ex Spurs and N.Ireland scored direct from a goal kick.

I forget the year and also the side he scored against

[OldGuy]

@Noone Special

Of course, while due to its placement it’s kind of difficult to be caught offsides during a corner kick :), in a 1-2 header type play as you suggest the recipient of the head pass could theoretically find themselves in an offsides position!

Back when I played soccer (40 years ago now), we were told there is no offsides on a corner kick. To this I replied, of course the ball is clearly in front of everyone when kicked. I was informed that while this was true, offsides was specifically not enforced on corner kicks by rule. I then asked (being the type of person who would grow up to read Straight Dope), if it doesn’t apply by rule when does the rule start to reapply, but no one could tell me.

So was my coach simply misinformed? Is there some different rule that governs offsides on corners or not. If a corner kick were kicked into the box then volleyed off two players, the second of which had only one defender between him and the goal, would the goal not cout?

[Capt.Ridley_s_Shooting_Party]

I’ve never heard of that rule before. I’ve seen plenty of offside decisions in the melee after a corner. When exactly would the offside rule start to be enforced after the corner kick?

[Noone_Special]

@OldGuy

Back when I played soccer (40 years ago now), we were told there is no offsides on a corner kick. To this I replied, of course the ball is clearly in front of everyone when kicked. I was informed that while this was true, offsides was specifically not enforced on corner kicks by rule. I then asked (being the type of person who would grow up to read Straight Dope), if it doesn’t apply by rule when does the rule start to reapply, but no one could tell me.

So was my coach simply misinformed? Is there some different rule that governs offsides on corners or not. If a corner kick were kicked into the box then volleyed off two players, the second of which had only one defender between him and the goal, would the goal not cout?

According to current FIFA rules, Law 11 (governing offside situations:

@FIFA

There is no offside offence if a player receives the ball directly from:

* a goal kick or
* a throw-in or
* **a corner kick**

(bolding mine)

So, yes, the rules directly cover the corner kick itself, but once a player touches it, the offside rule becomes relevant again.
I still don’t quite know why the fact that offsides doesn’t apply in a corner kick situation needs to be stated-- seems a bit redundant to me, given the ball placement – (maybe to cover cases where the kick is taken from the touch-line end of the arc?), but there you have it…

[Ximenean]

I’m not aware of any special offside clause for corners, and as you say why would there be one? Although I suppose that if you take the kick with the ball inside the corner triangle but a foot or so from the goal line then it is technically possible to make a forward pass. Maybe because of that there is some ruling explicitly stating that you cannot be offside from a corner kick.

If the corner hits one of your teammates and is deflected forward, the offside rule applies as usual.

[Ximenean]

Damn, I didn’t realise there was a page 2 of that law.

[DSYoungEsq]

The offside law specifically exempts corner kicks, so that no question of whether or not you are actually between the ball and the goal line can come into play; since the corner arc is 1 yard in radius, you could easily put offensive players ahead of the ball. But since it makes SENSE not to consider them offside, the law specifically states they are not.

For those of you talking about scoring directly from a goal kick, I have already indicated that the laws made that not possible legally before 1997. Now, I didn’t bother to go further back to see if it ever WAS possible before when I learned the laws, but I learned them in 1989, and at that time, it was not legal to score directly from a goal kick.

Probably you recall the keeper scoring direct from a punt, which is not a goal kick.

[Really_Not_All_That_Bright]

DS, see my post above- I’m quite sure it was a goal kick and not a punt.

[chowder]

DSYoung You’re quite right, they were punts no GKs

[Malacandra]

@casdave

A corner kick is known as a ‘set piece’ play, and teams practice different drills and strategies, the options usually come down to,

Crossing the ball somewhere deep inside the 5 yard box.

Crossing the ball to the back of the 5 yard box.

Tapping the ball short, to a nearby player who will then use the differant angle to put it into the 5 yard box, or maybe draw an opposing player to him, and pass it to another in the hope of releasing that person so they can make more creative use of the ball.

It really depends on the abilities of your own players and those of the opposition as to what you do.

A real favourite is to put the ball somewhere in the air to one of your own players somewhere at the nearest side of the goal area to the corner taker, and the ‘recieving’ player will glance it off their head to another part of the 5 yard box who may gain space from the sudden switch and so have time to set up and score.

The goal keeper will try to ensure that any ball that zips across the goal mouth around a couple of yards away will end up in his hands, and the trick is to try get the goallie to move further away from the goal line than is wise, by making the ball curve slightly away from him. This may leave the goallie too committed to getting the ball, and if he misses, then the goal line could be very vulnerable.
They call this one, ‘creating a zone of uncertainty’ - if the goallie gets it, he’s a hero, but if he overcommits and misses, and the opposition scores, he’s a turnip.

Generally speaking, the ball will not be put high sky into the air as in American Football, it will be floated across with or without pace and maybe with some swerve left or right, as I say, the idea is not to allow the opposition much time to work out what is happening and give them less time to react.

A defending team will obviously be well drilled and aware of these strategies, and unlike American Football, there is no such thing as a specialist team, and so they will also have been in the same attacking position too and will understand all the possibilities.

What is this “5 yard box” to which you refer? How come there’s room for it inside the 6 yard box?

[Quercus]

@Noone Special

So, yes, the rules directly cover the corner kick itself, but once a player touches it, the offside rule becomes relevant again.
I still don’t quite know why the fact that offsides doesn’t apply in a corner kick situation needs to be stated-- seems a bit redundant to me, given the ball placement – (maybe to cover cases where the kick is taken from the touch-line end of the arc?), but there you have it…

I’m too busy to search, but I dimly recollect that originally, you had to be behind the ball (not just even with it) to be onsides (or behind two defenders or course). Therefore a person on the goal line would have been offsides on a corner kick, without the explicit dispensation in the rules.
Is my memory full of it?