{"id":1426,"date":"2024-04-15T16:20:19","date_gmt":"2024-04-15T16:20:19","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/footballcollective.org.uk\/?post_type=terminology&#038;p=1426"},"modified":"2024-04-15T16:20:19","modified_gmt":"2024-04-15T16:20:19","slug":"drop-ball","status":"publish","type":"terminology","link":"https:\/\/footballcollective.org.uk\/terminology\/drop-ball\/","title":{"rendered":"What Is a Drop Ball in Football and Why Is It Used?"},"content":{"rendered":"<p>Years ago in football, you\u2019d occasionally get a scenario where there\u2019d be a stoppage in play that would need to be subsequently restarted in a fair way. A referee would have the discretion to use a drop ball (or \u2018dropped ball\u2019 depending on the localised lingo), which would see them literally drop the ball to the fall between a player from each team, who would then kick anything that moved in a bid to win possession back for their team \u2013 or at least leave a mark on their opponent to remind them of the episode.<\/p>\n<p>This was a contested drop ball, a frequent sight in football of yesteryear. However, you don\u2019t see them as much anymore \u2013 which is good news for the players\u2019 shins, if nothing else.<\/p>\n<p><iframe loading=\"lazy\" title=\"YouTube video player\" src=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/embed\/H91WY13rfps?si=owKIeW5DKOwyGIOo\" width=\"560\" height=\"315\" frameborder=\"0\" allowfullscreen=\"allowfullscreen\"><\/iframe><\/p>\n<h2>What Is a Dropped Ball?<\/h2>\n<p>As you know, football is a game with stoppages and restarts. Throw ins, free kicks, corners, goal kicks, kick-offs &#8211; these are just some of the ways that a referee will get the action back underway. But there are instances in which none of the above restarts are applicable \u2013 for example, when a player passes the ball, it strikes the referee and rebounds to a member of the opposing team. A free kick, of course, would not be appropriate here.<\/p>\n<p>And so a match official, as outlined in Law 8 of IFAB\u2019s <a href=\"https:\/\/www.theifab.com\/laws\/latest\/the-start-and-restart-of-play\/\">football rulebook<\/a> \u2013 \u2018The Start and Restart of Play\u2019 \u2013 will instead initiate a dropped ball instead.<\/p>\n<h2>What Is the Difference Between a Contested &amp; Uncontested Drop Ball?<\/h2>\n<p><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"aligncenter size-full wp-image-1428\" src=\"https:\/\/footballcollective.org.uk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/04\/restarting-play.jpg\" alt=\"Restarting play after a dropped ball\" width=\"780\" height=\"520\" srcset=\"https:\/\/footballcollective.org.uk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/04\/restarting-play.jpg 780w, https:\/\/footballcollective.org.uk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/04\/restarting-play-300x200.jpg 300w, https:\/\/footballcollective.org.uk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/04\/restarting-play-768x512.jpg 768w, https:\/\/footballcollective.org.uk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/04\/restarting-play-400x267.jpg 400w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 780px) 100vw, 780px\" \/><\/p>\n<p>For more than 100 years, drop balls were contested, i.e. the ball was dropped between two players, who would then proceed to try and win the game \u2013 all while retaining the structural integrity of their own shins. But in 2019, <a href=\"https:\/\/www.premierleague.com\/news\/1262488\">contested drop balls<\/a> were effectively removed from the beautiful game altogether. By this point, stoppages in play were usually instigated by one of the teams \u2013 for example, if an opposition player was injured, the team in possession would sportingly kick the ball out of play so that they could receive treatment.<\/p>\n<p>The affected team would then restart the game with a throw-in, typically throwing the ball to an opposition player in an act of goodwill \u2013 unless your name is Nwankwo Kanu and you\u2019re not familiar with the <a href=\"https:\/\/www.arsenal.com\/news\/news-archive\/ars-ne-wenger-offers-fa-cup-rematch\">traditions of English football<\/a>. In other situations, the referee would instigate a dropped ball but one of the teams would pass the ball to the other \u2013 another act of sportsmanship that essentially rendered the classic blood-and-thunder drop ball as redundant.<\/p>\n<p>IFAB themselves played their part in eliminating contested drop balls in football, decrying the \u2018manufactured\u2019 nature of the restart which could, in their view, lead to one team securing an \u2018unfair advantage\u2019, or result in an \u2018aggressive confrontation\u2019.<\/p>\n<blockquote class=\"twitter-tweet\">\n<p dir=\"ltr\" lang=\"en\">DROP-BALL!<\/p>\n<p>A belated farewell to the game within the beautiful game <a href=\"https:\/\/t.co\/65OrEzft76\">pic.twitter.com\/65OrEzft76<\/a><\/p>\n<p>\u2014 Bryan\u2019s Gunn (@bryansgunn) <a href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/bryansgunn\/status\/1536959428175577088?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw\">June 15, 2022<\/a><\/p><\/blockquote>\n<p><script async src=\"https:\/\/platform.twitter.com\/widgets.js\" charset=\"utf-8\"><\/script><\/p>\n<p>So, in 2019, they rewrote football\u2019s rule book to rid the game of contested drop balls \u2013 instead replacing them with an \u2018uncontested\u2019 version, in which the ball is dropped at the feet of a player from the team that was in possession prior to the stoppage.<\/p>\n<h2>When Is a Drop Ball Used in Football?<\/h2>\n<p>The most common example of a dropped ball being used in this contemporary era is when it strikes a match official. That being said, the referee is afforded the discretion to decide when play should be stopped for a drop ball and when it can be allowed to go on \u2013 for example, if the ball strikes them and rebounds in a completely different direction, a dropped ball may be called.<\/p>\n<p>However, if the contact between the match official and the ball is minor and doesn\u2019t affect the trajectory of the pass\/shot, and where the same team remains in possession of the ball, they may just let play go on. There are other instances when a dropped ball may be used. One of those is when a player suffers a head injury \u2013 the referee has no choice but to stop play, regardless of where the ball is.<\/p>\n<p>Once the injured party has been tended to, the referee will typically restart play with an uncontested dropped ball, with the recipient being the team in possession prior to the stoppage. A dropped ball will also be deployed when:<\/p>\n<ul>\n<li>The ball itself is popped, becomes flat or faulty<\/li>\n<li>An extra ball or foreign object enters the field of play<\/li>\n<li>An \u2018outside agent\u2019, such as a supporter or streaker, enters the field of play<\/li>\n<li>A spectator interferes with the game, i.e. by blowing a whistle or shining a laser pen<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<h2>What Are the Rules on Dropped Balls in Football?<\/h2>\n<p><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"aligncenter size-full wp-image-1429\" src=\"https:\/\/footballcollective.org.uk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/04\/referee-about-to-blow-whistle.jpg\" alt=\"Referee blowing whistle\" width=\"780\" height=\"520\" srcset=\"https:\/\/footballcollective.org.uk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/04\/referee-about-to-blow-whistle.jpg 780w, https:\/\/footballcollective.org.uk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/04\/referee-about-to-blow-whistle-300x200.jpg 300w, https:\/\/footballcollective.org.uk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/04\/referee-about-to-blow-whistle-768x512.jpg 768w, https:\/\/footballcollective.org.uk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/04\/referee-about-to-blow-whistle-400x267.jpg 400w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 780px) 100vw, 780px\" \/><\/p>\n<p>So, what are the <a href=\"https:\/\/www.thefa.com\/football-rules-governance\/lawsandrules\/laws\/football-11-11\/law-8---the-start-and-restart-of-play\">exact rules<\/a> on dropped balls in football? For any incidence outside of the penalty area, the ball is dropped at the feet of a player whose team was in possession prior to the stoppage that required the drop ball. This occurs at the point nearest to where the ball was when the game was stopped. All other players must stand at least four metres away from the droppage. As soon as the receiving player touches the ball, the game is \u2018live\u2019 and play resumes as normal.<\/p>\n<p>When the stoppage occurs due to an incident inside one of the penalty areas, the drop ball rules are slightly different. Here, the defending team\u2019s goalkeeper will be the recipient of the dropped ball \u2013 regardless of how the play was unfolding prior to the stoppage. They are allowed to pick the ball up or play on with their feet.<\/p>\n<p>There can be instances where a dropped ball is messed up by the receiving player, and therefore the ball has to be dropped again. They\u2019re not allowed to touch it before it bounces, for example, and they aren\u2019t allowed to shoot directly at goal and score; a dropped ball must make contact with at least two players before a goal can be scored. If a player scores directly from a dropped ball, play is restarted with a goal kick to the defending team.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"featured_media":1427,"template":"","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"site-sidebar-layout":"default","site-content-layout":"default","ast-main-header-display":"","ast-hfb-above-header-display":"","ast-hfb-below-header-display":"","ast-hfb-mobile-header-display":"","site-post-title":"","ast-breadcrumbs-content":"","ast-featured-img":"","footer-sml-layout":"","theme-transparent-header-meta":"default","adv-header-id-meta":"","stick-header-meta":"","header-above-stick-meta":"","header-main-stick-meta":"","header-below-stick-meta":""},"acf":[],"aioseo_notices":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/footballcollective.org.uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/terminology\/1426"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/footballcollective.org.uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/terminology"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/footballcollective.org.uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/terminology"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/footballcollective.org.uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/1427"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/footballcollective.org.uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=1426"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}