Be the Referee: Dead Ball Penalty
By
Paige Winne
MHSAA Director of Brand Management
September 15, 2026
Be The Referee is a series of short messages designed to help educate people on the rules of different sports, to help them better understand the art of officiating, and to recruit officials.
Below is this week's segment – Dead Ball Penalty - Listen
We’ve got 4th-and-10 on the football field today. Team A has the ball on their own 40 and is going for it.
The quarterback scrambles and is pushed out of bounds at the 49-yard line, one yard short of a first down.
A defensive player from Team B hits the quarterback after he’s been pushed out of bounds and is flagged for a dead-ball personal foul. Where should the ball be marked and who has possession?
Is it 1st-and-10 for Team A at Team B’s 36-yard line? Or does the defense get the ball, 1st-and-10 for Team B at their own 36?
If you said Team B’s ball, you are correct. The personal foul was a dead-ball penalty that is enforced after the change of possession.
Previous 2026-27 editions
Sept. 8: Libero Ejected - Listen
Sept. 1: Soccer Foul After Shot on Goal - Listen
Aug. 25: Fumble Out of Bounds - Listen
Be the Referee: Soccer Handling
By
Paige Winne
MHSAA Director of Brand Management
September 5, 2024
Be The Referee is a series of short messages designed to help educate people on the rules of different sports, to help them better understand the art of officiating, and to recruit officials.
Below is this week's segment – Soccer Handling - Listen
In soccer, a kicked ball that inadvertently touches a player’s arm is not a handball. If a ball is kicked at someone’s face and they instinctively put their hand in front of their face to block the ball – that is also not a handball. There was no intent.
Handball – or handling – is called when the touch with a hand or arm is deliberate.
However, if a ball glances off an offensive player’s arm and goes into the goal, the goal is not allowed. Even if the touching was accidental or inadvertent, it’s no goal. If the touching leads to an immediate goal-scoring opportunity, then it’s also whistled for handling.
As long as the inadvertent touching doesn’t lead directly to a goal, it’s play on.
Previous 2024-25 Editions
Aug. 24: Football Holding - Listen
PHOTO Westland John Glenn and Sterling Heights Stevenson players pursue the ball during their matchup this season. (Photo by Douglas Bargerstock.)