Late in a match with Team A leading by a goal, 3 players from team A surround the ball in and around it's own corner kick arc. Each player is within playing distance of the ball preventing B, by space, from getting to the ball. Is this legal? I have seen 1 player " take it to the corner", but never 3. Note even if B fouls one of the three players, a free kick is taken (with B 10 yds from the ball) and it starts all over again.

Yes its legal. The rules dont say how many can guard the ball. In this situation, hopefully, the kicker would boom the ball to the mid line and it would not start over again.
Hope we can get more people to use this page.

You could make a case that it is unsporting conduct... the criteria for it are rather vague so its basically a discretionary call.

now....

the opposing players could gently try to push their way through with a very slow but fair "charge" (shoulder to shoulder)... and they could still be within "playing distance" of the ball. They can use contact as long as the force is not excessive (or reckless/careless). Basically they can try to walk between the players to get at the ball, but I guess those players could respond with equal (non excessive) force in standing there firmly... which brings us back to square 1.

If it happened a lot in major international / FIFA games, they would make some new rule to deal with it... http://www.refereeforum.com/ubb/smile.gif

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<BLOCKQUOTE><font size="1" face="Verdana, Arial, Geneva">quote:</font><HR>Originally posted by crabber:
Late in a match with Team A leading by a goal, 3 players from team A surround the ball in and around it's own corner kick arc. Each player is within playing distance of the ball preventing B, by space, from getting to the ball. Is this legal? I have seen 1 player " take it to the corner", but never 3. Note even if B fouls one of the three players, a free kick is taken (with B 10 yds from the ball) and it starts all over again.<HR></BLOCKQUOTE>

I think Jeff summed it up pretty well right there http://www.refereeforum.com/ubb/smile.gif

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these players just get more creative all the time, don't they; it's amazing to me how intricately they can assess and interpret the rules to find ways of "getting around them" but they can't remember the very basics when it comes time for you to enforce a call against them [I didn't know I couldn't run into the keeper"]

I would agree with rapmaster on the unsporting call; you may incur the wrath of Coach A, but it IS your decision as to what constitutes "unsportsmanlike"; from a coaching perspective, I would remind my players [Team B] that while Team A has latitude [temporary partial suspension of obstruction due to playing distance] so does Team B [temporary partial suspension of charging from behind] and as an official, I would most likely expand the latitude I would award to Team B in this situation

tricky little so-and-so's; amazing