Question Number: 27235

Law 7 - Match Duration 3/11/2013

RE: Adult

iain erskine of Weymouth, UK asks...

if the whistle goes for a corner before the end of play should the corner be taken and the immediate play take place before the final whistle is blown?

Answer provided by Referee Dennis Wickham

There is no requirement that the ball be in play for the final whistle.
The referee has complete discretion as to the amount of added or injury time.

Nonetheless, it is rare to see the final whistle when the ball has gone out for a corner kick. IMO, it is unwise to blow the final whistle when the ball is in the air upon a corner kick (and could be headed directly into the goal).

Answer provided by Referee Joe McHugh

Hi Iain
There is no requirement for the ball to be in play for the referee to end a game. The referee will end play when time has fully elapsed.
In recent games involving Manchester United there were two corner kicks that were not allowed to be taken due to play being ended. One was in the CL game against Real Madrid and the other was in the FA Cup against Chelsea. In the CL game the referee was playing 3 minutes of added time and when the 3.00 was up he ended the game just as United were about to take the corner. That upset the United players but the referee was entitled to do so.
In the Chelsea game Howard Webb was playing added time in the first half and he blew for half time after the ball was saved by Cech for a corner to Manchester United.
Generally though referees tend to find a few seconds to allow a corner kick to be taken and it depends on the timing method used by the referee. In this case I suspect Howard Webb allowed the attack to finish which used up the few seconds of discretion and then he ended the half. Again he was entitled in law to do that.