Question Number: 26300

Law 12 - Fouls and Misconduct 5/7/2012

RE: Competitive Under 13

Steve of Leeds, England asks...

Striker through on goal with defender chasing back, keeper comes out of area, ball hits him bounces upto striker, defender makes a challenge striker evades challange and ultimatley scores. Scoring team return to line up for kick off. Referee realises the linesmans flag is up, goes to converse with him. Linesman says keeper handled the ball outside the area when the striker was through on goal. Referee cancels the goal and awards the scoring team afree kick outside the area. Keeper is then sent off for denying a goalscoring opportunity.

Is a goal scoring opportunity denied? the player did go on to score. The goal was given so should the referee then go back and deal with an incident which the ref didnt seem to see in play?

Answer provided by Referee Jason Wright

As advantage has been played the goal scoring opportunity has not been denied - rather, the keeper has simply attempted to deny it, thus cannot be sent off.

The goal should not have been disallowed - a goal is seen as the best possible outcome from a scenario, thus that is where the advantage lies - not in sending off the keeper.

Answer provided by Referee Gary Voshol

Bad AR, Bad, bad AR!

While the assistant referee does not have a signal for advantage, he should make the same determination of it as the referee does. The ref didn't see the foul; the AR did and shouldn't have called it.

Why go back to some foul that may have happened, when a goal was already scored? Even if the referee wanted to address the goalkeeper's handling, he has implicitly applied advantage and let play continue.

The goalkeeper could be cautioned, but most likely all that is needed is a talking to - 'I missed seeing your foul. My AR saw it, but you're lucky the goal was scored, or else I'd have to be sending you off. Let's not let that happen again.'

Answer provided by Referee Joe McHugh

Hi Steve
With the referee missing the AR flag and the attacking team not being disadvantaged by the goalkeeper's foul the referee should have allowed the goal and restarted with the kick off. The goalkeeper can still be cautioned but cannot be sent off as a goal has not been denied.
Okay the AR's flag went up for the deliberate handling but the referee had the powers to allow the goal by disregarding the AR's flag after discussing the reason for the signal. As play had continued with the flag not being seen it is akin to advantage by default. The biggest advantage that a team can benefit from is a goal. Indeed if the referee had seen the flag he could have signalled for advantage and allowed play to continue which means that the AR must drop the flag. Instead a goal has been chalked off and the opponents gets the opportunity to set up a defensive wall and put another goalkeeper into goal albeit they are now a player short.
Let me put it in another context. Say it was a cup final in the last minute of the game and the score is 0-1 and the goal is to equalise. Why would the ref chalk off a perfectly good equalising goal for an AR's flag for an offence by the defending team? The defending team would be delighted with no goal being awarded and the opportunity to defend a set play even with the loss of the GK to a dismissal.
No it was a poor decision here by the referee. It is an unhelpful consequence of this sending off offence that some referees believe that the advantage is in the sending off not in the award of the goal. That was never the intent of the DOGSO law.
The facts here as described is that the attacking team has not infringed the Laws and a goal has been scored. Different matter entirely if the attacker infringed the Laws after the GK foul in which case advantage cannot be played and the only decision is to go with the 1st foul, a DFK and a dismissal for denying an obvious goal scoring opportunity.

The following questions were asked as a follow up to the above question...

See Question: 26311