A defender takes a throw-in and throws the ball towards their own goalkeeper. An attacker chases after the ball to intercept the pass, but the goalkeeper also runs to the ball, extends their arms, and handles the ball inside the penalty area before the attacker. What is the correct decision if the ball was moving towards the goal, the attacker was likely to gain control of the ball, and the goalkeeper was nearer to their goal line than any other defending team player?

Question

Accepted Answer

The goalkeeper cannot handle the ball after receiving it directly from a team-mate’s throw-in. In this situation, an indirect free kick is awarded to the attacking team, but there is no disciplinary sanction so the referee does not need to judge if the goalkeeper’s handball offence stopped a promising attack or denied a goal or an obvious goal-scoring opportunity.