The back-pass rule refers to two clauses within Law 12 of the Laws of the Game of association football.[1] These clauses prohibit the goalkeeper from handling the ball when a team-mate has intentionally "kicked" the ball to him, or when handling the ball directly from a team-mate's throw-in.[2] The goalkeeper is still permitted to use his feet and other body parts to redirect the ball.
The actual offence committed is the handling of the ball by the goalkeeper, not the ball being passed back. An indirect free kick is awarded to the opposing team from the place where the offence occurred, i.e., where the goalkeeper handled the ball. In practice this offence is very rarely committed.
The offense rests on three events occurring in the following sequence: - The ball is kicked (played with the foot, not the knee, thigh, or shin) by a teammate of the goalkeeper, - This action is deemed to be deliberate, rather than a deflection or miskick, and - The goalkeeper handles the ball directly (no intervening touch of play of the ball by anyone else)
There are some very important exceptions to the back-pass rule. If a player passes the ball back to his goalkeeper using his head, chest or knee, the goalie can pick up the ball. The goalie can also pick up the ball if a teammate passes it to him by accident. For example, a defender might slice or scuff his clearance, accidentally kicking the ball towards the goalkeeper. In this case, the goalie can pick up the ball.
The back-pass rule was introduced in 1992[3] to discourage time-wasting and overly defensive play after the 1990 World Cup was described as exceedingly dull, rife with back-passing and goalkeepers holding up the ball. Also, goalkeepers would frequently drop the ball and dribble it around, only to pick it up again once opponents came closer to put them under pressure; a typical time-stalling technique. An example was when Ireland goalkeeper Pat Bonner kept the ball for over 6 minutes against Egypt by dribbling it around his box and picking it up again. Therefore, another rule was introduced at the same time as the back-pass rule, with the same intentions. This rule prohibits the goalkeeper from handling the ball again once he has released it for play. This offence would also result in an indirect free kick to the opposition.
After his team conceded a comical goal from a back-pass situation in November 2011, Stoke chairman Peter Coates said that "that part of the rule book is virtually not operated any more. I can't remember the last time I saw a free-kick given for a back-pass to the goalkeeper, it's that long ago. It's been ignored, quite rightly."[4]