Night for illegal kicks!

[rdfox]

Just when you think you've seen it all, something like this comes along. Awesome...

Under NF rules, you first have to let the play proceed since the loose ball is treated the same as a fumble. A could recover the ball and eventually run it into the EZ for a two-point conversion, in which case the penalty could be accepted on the kickoff. Of course, if B recovered the ball, the try is over.

Barring that, however, I assume you would penalize the illegal kick from the previous spot due to the loose-ball play and re-play the try.

[The Roamin' Umpire]

While flagging the illegal kick and letting the play proceed "feels" like the right thing to do, I suspect it's actually the wrong ruling.

4-1-1 tells us that the ball must be put in play by a kickoff.

2-23-5 tells us that a kickoff is a free kick.

2-23-3 tells us "A free kick is any legal kick which puts the ball in play to start a free-kick down."

Since the kick isn't legal, the ball is never put into play - i.e. it remains dead, just as if there were encroachment.

Can we flag this? I see no reason why not - nothing in the rules specifies that the illegal kicking rules only apply to live balls. But we should shut this down immediately, penalize the 15 yards, and re-kick.

[rdfox]

I was talking about the illegal kick on the try.

[BoBo]

Just a refresher if the kicking team illegally kicks the ball BEHIND the neutral zone we have illegal kick penalty 15 yards from the spot of the foul correct.

If it is beyond the neutral zone 15 yards from the spot of the foul.

Correct on both????