Why they call them 'FREE kicks'

Frank, over at Internet Commentator, remarks on a controversial goal scored in yesterday's brilliant match between two London sides, champions Arsenal and league leaders Chelsea.

The "controversy" occurred when Arsenal's Thierry Henry curled a free kick into the net before Chelsea's goalkeeper had finished setting up his defensive wall. The referee never blew his whistle to signal authorization for Henry to go ahead, so Chelsea were furious.

Except, there was no need for a whistle.

In a free kick situation, the kick taker can EITHER ask for the wall to be 10 yards away OR he can take it quickly. If he asks for 10 yards, he must wait for the ref to give him 10 yards and then blow the whistle. But if he wants to take the kick quickly, he can do so at his leisure. This often happens with free kicks in the middle of the field or other non-threatening spots. It's the attacking team's prerogative to take the kick quickly if it wants; removing that prerogative would further reward the defensive team for committing fouls in dangerous spots. In short, the defense must adjust to the offense, not vice versa.

But what really baffles me is this. This sort of incident happens at least once or twice every year in England's Premiership. And every time, it causes great controversy in the media. People (and apparently managers) who don't know basic rules fume about such "injustice."

I've been coaching U-14 and U-16 kids for only four years and I not only know this rule but make sure my players know it; you'd think Chelsea's significantly more experienced manager, who has two European trophies under his belt, would know the rule. Except, I think he does know the rule. He was just furious, I imagine, because his expensive team led by an ambitious manager committed an amateurish error.

Even if top managers didn't know this rule, you'd think they would sit up and take notice each time a tempest in a teapot of this nature ensues. You'd think they would've figured it out several controversies ago. As they say, learning from your mistakes is good, but learning from others' mistakes is better.