I have to agree with SRW on this. If the rule book doesn't want to apply this rule in certain instances, they need to spell it out. The rule book is black and white, with a few mistakes and poorly worded sections. While I understand all the comments about the intent of the rule, I can't win a protest with the intent. I have to enforce it with the rule itself. I'm probably not going to award the ball until the coach asks me about it in this situation, but, if he handles the question correctly, I'm going to have to enforce the rule,
as worded in the book Since I don't have the "reasoning behind the rules" section in my Rule Book I have to go with what ASA did give me, which is a Rule Book and a Case Book. They spell it out on what happens in this instance. Until I get to be on the council changing rules, I need to stay with the rules that are currently written down in the 2005 Rule Book.
There's 1 more in your corner on this discussion, SRW.