Rule 3 Question.
A, K/O, 0:13 (4). A11 "squib" kicks from the A35. A80 legally touches the ball at the A47. The FJ winds to start the clock on the legal touching by A. The ball then goes out of bounds, untouched by Team B, at the 50. The FJ has a flag for the free kick out of bounds, and signals to stop the clock at :09.
Is this treated as a foul that causes the clock to stop? Does the 10-second subtraction rule apply?
I would like to think that the ball going out of bounds stops the clock, not the foul. But, by that philosophy, an illegal backward pass thrown OB to conserve time would not qualify, and we know that is not true. But, a key statement in the rule is “Any other foul committed with the intent of stopping the clock.” I don’t see how a kick out of bounds would be attempted with the intent of stopping the clock. Why would a team A player touch the ball to start the clock, only to let the ball go OB? They know they won’t get to keep the ball, so that would be a literal waste of time (for them). I can’t think of a live-ball foul that the kicking team could commit to stop the clock before either teams gains player possession, or during a runback by B. So, they get no benefit with an illegal kick OB.
I say the 10 second subtraction does not apply.
