Question Number: 22438

Law 1- The Field 11/5/2009

RE: Competative Under 17

Tonia Chase of Windham, NH USA asks...

When a soccer goal is placed underneath a football goal with the face of the football goal approximately six inches forward of the soccer crossbar and a couple of feet above it, is play stopped if the the football goal is struck?

Since this is outdoor soccer, there should be no upper bound. If the ball strikes a tree, a bird or a football goal, I would think it would remain in play since the game because there was no injury, or misconduct, and the ball was still in bounds because the ball did not pass in its entirety over one of the lines that defines the field of play.

I watched a high school championship game where they disqualified the goal off the soccer crossbar because the referee felt it nicked the football goal on the bounce.

Is there a difference between high school and FIFA interpretations of the field of play?

Answer provided by Referee Dennis Wickham

Any part of the structure for a US football goalpost that extends into or over the field of play is considered a 'non-regulation appurtenances.' If the ball hits it, the ball is dead and the restart is treated as if the ball left the field of play (i.e., goal kick/corner kick).

Trees and branches (telephone wires) above the field and sprinkler heads, rocks and twigs on the ground, are considered 'natural conditions.' Absent a local ground rule, play is not stopped when the ball touches them.

There is no difference between TLOG and NFHS for this. (NFHS adds a safety rule that requires when a soccer goal is placed in front of a US football goalpost, the base of the US football goalpost be at least 2 yards from the front of the goal.)

Answer provided by Referee Joe McHugh

Hi
As a referee I would recommend to always err on the side of caution with the ball hitting a pre existing condition. The Laws allow the referee to stop play for outside interference and IMO this should be used in all these situations. It then removes any questions and the game is restarted with a dropped ball. If the ball drops advantageously to one team it can cause all sorts of problems.
The 2006 WC in Germany had an incident in the match between England V Paraguay in the Commerzbank-Arena, where a goal kick from England goalkeeper Paul Robinson struck the video cube hanging in the middle of the pitch and bounced into play. The Referee stopped play and restarted with a dropped ball.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Commerzbank-Arena