Question Number: 24086

Law 5 - The Referee 10/5/2010

RE: Competitive Under 15

Sung Ku of Pasadena, CA Los Angeles asks...

This question is a follow up to question 24068

Big 'thank you' for all referees for your answers on Question 24068!

This follow up question is for Referee JOE MCHUGH:

- Since the CR terminated the match (players from both teams were already off the field after the final whistle. If it was a match under a bigger stage, players and coaches would have been in the locker rooms), there was no opportunity for a restart. Can CR terminate a match, reverse a call, and then restart the match before terminating the match again?

- Thank you for the question of on which player (attacker or defender) the first ball came off of. The answer is I don't know and my son, who took the corner kick, cannot recall on which player the ball came off of. And, I'm certainly not going to question refs about this as I assume the AR and the CR already knew the answer to this 1st ball question =). However, if the 1st ball came off of both an attacker and a defender at the same time before another attacker at offside position puts the ball into the net, is it a goal or an offside?

THANK YOU IN ADVANCE FOR YOUR HELP!!!

Answer provided by Referee Joe McHugh

Hi
If both teams are off the field of play then the game has been terminated and the referee cannot change any decision. In addition if the referee is on his own and he terminates the game then no decision can be changed. The only possible caveat is a timing error where the referee may want to restart the game to finish out unplayed time.
I might add that on Jim Allen's official USSF Q&A site there is no mention of an assistant referee involvement bringing an infraction to the attention of the referee and I would concur with Mr Allen's answer to the question as asked as the referee has terminated the match. IMO that is entirely different from the referee blowing for the end of the game and his AR shouts/runs in to inform him that he had his flag raised for an infraction before the final whistle, which he missed. Once the referee accepts the AR?s information, he would count play as having stopped at that time. If the assistant referee says the offense occurred before time ran out (based on the referee?s signal) and the referee decides to accept the AR?s information, then time has NOT run out. Given the short period of time involved, the correct restart is an IDFK for offside. As I said in my original answer the referee's mechanics of handling the situation were at fault.
As regards the offside element it is essential to determine which player the ball came off to make a decision. If it came off both an attacker and a defender instantly it is offside. In the absence of a definitive answer such as whether it touched an attacker or not the benefit of any doubt should be given to the attacking side.