This happened during a hs varsity match this past spring. It was an extremly windy day and team A was awarded a corner kick. It just so happens that the corner flags were the "spring on the base" variety. Well, the wind would gust and the flag would bend down over the ball each time the player made her approach to kick the ball. Naturaly she would stop and try it again. Finally I instructed the ball person to stay out of play and hold the flag until the kick was taken. Of course the coach of team B complained that I was giving team A an unfair advantage. "In my opinion" I explained, "if the girl had attempted the kick without the outside assistance she most certainly would have injured herself". I also proceeded to explain to both coaches that if the situation occured again(in this game) we would handle it in a like manner. At halftime the hometeam found the conventional style flag and we had no further incident. Needless to say our assignor did not agree with my decision (I'm not new to the game by any means)but I have seen no rule disallowing such assistance for safety sake. I know the flag cannot be moved or taken out, but what harm was done by keeping it out of harms way. Any thoughts?

I posted a longer response but it seems to have disappeared...

anyway I agree with you, you need to use common sense. As long as the linesman was holding the flag directly upright (where it "should" be), there is no advantage being given. Just be consistent to both teams.

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let me take a different approach to this and recommend that the player should have taken a different approach to the ball--

there is obviously a downwind and an upwind side to the flag, and the player is not entitled to clear placement at the spot of choice, simply to legitimate placement within the arc, which is a yard in radius; certainly there was some spot within the arc that was not occluded by the flagpost, and that is the spot from which the player should have taken the corner kick

what would your ruling have been had the player wanted to wait until water or mud had dried before kicking? would you have had a ball chaser daub up the water making a dry kicking perch as well

I think I would agree with your assignor and Coach B in this one; play the conditions, and restraint of the flag is not allowable, by rule for the player and therefore by extension for anyone