Question Number: 27772

Law 10 - Method of Scoring 9/16/2013

RE: rec, select Under 15

matt of san fran, ca usa asks...

If a player shoots the ball and the goalie saves the ball inside the plane of the goal line is it a goal even though it never touches anything in the goal?

Answer provided by Referee Gary Voshol

The ball must completely cross the goal line for a goal to count. If the goalkeeper didn't let that happen, then there is no goal. Did they not teach this in your referee certification classes? Or are you checking up because you got some grief in a game where you made the right decision?

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Answer provided by Referee Joe McHugh

HI Matt
If all of the ball crosses all of the plane of the goal line then it is a goal. The ball does not have to touch the net or the ground.
In fact the Laws allow for the game to be played without nets. Most if not all competition rules insist on nets though.

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Answer provided by Referee Jason Wright

If the ball wholly crosses the goal line, then it's a goal. It doesn't matter if it touches the net or the ground, it simply needs to wholly pass the line, whether along the ground or in the air. This is the case for crossing any line.

But if the ball still has a sliver above the goal line then it's still in play, irrelevant of the position of the keeper.

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