Question Number: 20795

Law 9 - The Ball in and out of Play 2/2/2009

RE: Sunday Football Adult

Richard Carroll of Nottingham, England asks...

we had a incident this sunday where the referee blew for a foul but then allowed play to run(giving advantage to the opp team) - i have never heard of this and never witnessed this in all my time. Players are taught to play to the whistle so if they hear it(the ref addmitted he blew to me and the opp manager) then you cant give advantage - this was in the dieing seconds of the match and when i asked to the free kick to be given the ref blew for full time... the advantage given to the team resulted in a goal and ment we drew the match - ive taken it up with Nottingham FA but have yet to have a reply could you advise me as to whats right or wrong and if suvch a matter has ever happend before and what was the out come.

Answer provided by Referee Michelle Maloney

The play is dead when the referee blows the whistle. He definitely cannot allow advantage at that point!! Whatever was he thinking?

Even if he blows the whistle by mistake, the play is stopped, and the restart will be a dropped ball wherever the ball was when play was stopped (unless it was in the defending goal area and then the drop will go to the top of the goal area line).

The game should be protested, as the referee has made a fundamental misapplication of the Laws of the Game. What happens next will depend in part on the association rules in such instances, as to whether the game is replayed or whatever, but I see no way for the mistaken goal to stand. You cannot score a goal when play is dead - it's just that simple.

Answer provided by Referee Richard Dawson

If the referee actually blew the whistle to stop play he MUST restart it either with the free kick IF that was the reason or a drop ball if the whistle was accidental.

Advantage played after a whistle where play NEVER ceases is simply against any conception of FAIR PLAY. Most players will stop or respond to a whistle as in no longer playing the game expecting some sort of restart.

I can understand that a referee can be too quick on the whistle when a wait and see advantage look was the best option. HOWEVER, once he clamps down and blows the match MUST be restarted fairly.

That said if there was a quick restart after the foul, where the ball was motionless and near the spot of the infraction there might only be a very short pause. Seen that in a Man U match where the whistle to stop play and the following restart was about 1/2 second in time difference. A whistle is NOT required to restart play!

Be interested to hear how your protest goes. Facts concerning play and goals scored and the results of a match are at the discretion of the referee and usually final.
Cheers

Answer provided by Referee Chuck Fleischer

I remember doing that many, many years ago. Shot taken from the halfway line in a U-10 match -- hard late foul -- ball entered the net, I played advantage and sold it to everyone save the protest committee. I learned something that day, when the whistle goes you have stopped play and the only way to restart things is a dropped ball, a free kick, a throw-in, a goal kick, a corner kick or a kick off. Yup, I screwed up that one. The match was replayed with a slightly more humble referee at the helm.

Regards,

Answer provided by Referee Keith Contarino

The way the referee plays advantage is to simply NOT blow the whistle. Once the whistle blew, play was stopped as were, I suspect, most of your players. If the referee blew by mistake, play still has stopped and he must restart with a dropped ball.
His action was mistaken and unfair. By all means protest this one and let us know how it turns out