Back Pass and The Rule of 4 Seconds in Futsal

Very often (especially between amateur futsalers) a question is raised about the procedure of passing the ball back to a goalkeeper – is it allowed; if yes, then – in what situations; what are the restrictions etc. Even those, who think they know what the rules say about it, not often know all details. As a result – arguing, misunderstandings, stupid mistakes and awkward situations occur.

Although, because of the importance of a keeper in futsal (not only in defending the goal, but also – during atacking plays), it is absolutely vital to be 100% sure of what the keeper is allowed to do and what is restricted. There are also a lot of questions about the ''rule of 4 seconds''.

So, we decided to end up all your doubts and help you avoid all your misunderstandings in this one article. We present you the compact information from the FIFA Futsal Laws of the Game 2010-2011 about involving a keeper in attacking plays.

Back pass
A pass back to a goalkeeper is punished with indirect free kick if a goalie:

1. touches the ball with his hands;
2. touches the ball with his hands from a kick-in (out);
3. posesses the ball using any part of his body for more than 4 seconds;
4. touches the ball using any part of his body following a pass from his teammates before the ball left goalkeeper's half of the pitch or before an opponent player touched the ball.

Rule of 4 seconds

First of all it's necessary to know, that a goalkeeper is not permitted to touch the ball inside his own half of the pitch, if he is in possession of the ball in his own half of the pitch for more than 4 seconds. In this situation it does not matter, whether he possesses the ball:

1. with his hands inside his penalty area;
2. with his feet in his own half of the pitch;
3. starting with his hands inside his penalty area and continuing with his feet in his own half of the pitch.

Second important aspect is, that in all these cases, the referee publicly makes the four-second count if:

1. after playing the ball, a goalkeeper touches it again in his own half of the pitch after it has been deliberately kicked to him by a team-mate without an opponent playing or touching it (the goalkeeper is considered to be in control of the ball by touching it with any part of his body, except if the ball accidentally rebounds off him);
2. a goalkeeper touches the ball with his hands inside his own penalty area after it has been kicked to him by a team-mate;
3. a goalkeeper touches the ball with his hands inside his own penalty area after he has received it directly from a kick-in by a team-mate.

Remember - it is not necessary for the goalkeeper to have the ball in his hands before the referees begin the 4-second count.

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via mediafire