Question Number: 28872

Mechanics 10/20/2014

RE: Middle School Under 15

Bill Durbrow of Washington, VT USA asks...

Attacker shoots on goal, a defender in the penalty area dives and tries to stop the ball with his hand (did make contact) however the ball had some zip on it and crossed the goal line. Referee whistled when he saw the deliberate hand ball and awarded a penalty kick which was missed. Should the ref allowed the goal after the intentional hand ball in the penalty box.
By disallowing the goal, we lost the match.

Answer provided by Referee Richard Dawson

Hi Bill,
sigh, we often talk about these situations where playing advantage inside the penalty area is to DELAY the whistle to await an outcome as opposed to instantly stopping play and yet REFRAIN from signalling the advantage. It is called situational awareness and unfortunately for you this referee was too quick on the whistle.

However, lets spread the blame a little, your PK shooter was a lousy shot! Was the Defender sent off for DOGSO? Did you play with more men? The referee signalled play was over, tough break, but once the whistle sounded signalling his decision play was halted then the ball entering the goal after the stoppage can not be allowed.

I have seen a similar situation where a high profile referee allowed a goal, restarted kick off and both teams accepted the incorrect decision. He was blasting the whistle for the deliberate handling just as the ball was being deposited into the back of the goal off the rebound.

In the post game review it was HIGLIGHTED that awarding a goal AFTER signalling play was stopped EVEN as it was a very CLOSE timeline IT is a PROTESTABLE situation as it is CONTRARY to the LOTG. It was clear the players on the field knew it was suspect but the one team glad to have the goal the other glad not to play a man short neither team took it to the review board
Lesson learned in situations like this SWALLOW the whistle and WAIT before signalling.

Cheers

Answer provided by Referee Joe McHugh

Hi Bill
A goal cannot be awarded when play has already been stopped with a whistle. The decision that the referee made was made quickly and he blew the whistle too soon. Had he waited until the ball crossed the line then the goal could have been awarded.
As he did not do that then all he could do was award the penalty kick and dismiss the defender for denying an obvious goal by deliberate handling.
We all recall the infamous incident of Suarez of Uruguay handling the ball on the line in the World Cup game against Ghana in 2010. While slightly different in that no goal was scored the principle is still the same in that Ghana subsequently missed the penalty and lost the game as a result of a foul by the opponents. All the Laws allow for is the award of a penalty kick and a dismissal.
I had one of these recently in a game where the ball was knocked back out some 10/12 yards behind me by a defender using his arm and I blew for the penalty. An attacker managed to get a shot off after I blew the whistle which went into the goal. All I could do was send off the defender and award the penalty. And yes the team missed the penalty but it did not effect the outcome of the game. Now I would have been wrong in law to allow the goal and while I thought about it I knew that I would then be totally wrong in law and subject to possible questioning about my decision. I did what was required under the Laws. The learning point for me was that while I was eager to sell the penalty with an early call I should have waited the few seconds to see the outcome even if that required a harder sell on the handling due to the delay had a goal not been scored.

Answer provided by Referee Joe Manjone

Bill,

If the middle school game was being played under NFHS rules, the answer to your question would be yes, the referee should have allowed the play to continue until the ball entered or missed the goal. If that would have happened, the goal would have counted and the defensive player that tried to stop the goal should have received a caution. (Rule 12-8-1f-13).

However, although you did not indicate it, the referee blew the whistle before the ball entered the goal. If this was the case, then the defender was to be disqualified and a penalty kick was to be awarded. (Rule 12-8-2d-2) You mentioned a penalty kick being awarded, but you did not mention the disqualification.

A referee blowing a whistle prematurely, especially in a penalty kick situation, does sometimes occur. Unfortunately, in your game, it cost your team a certain goal. It is unfortunate that your player missed the penalty kick,

I hope that your team is more successful in future games.

Answer provided by Referee Jason Wright

Hi Bill,

If the referee blew the whistle before the ball entered the goal, then the goal cannot be awarded - even if the whistle had no effect on play. I know it may seem unfair, but that's the law.

I've had scenarios where a player has been fouled with 5 players between him and the goal, then just as I've blown the whistle he's some how turned and slotted the ball between every player and the keeper and into the net. But, I couldn't allow the goal - and that was a situation where nobody in their right mind would have seen any chance of the player scoring! Didn't stop me feeling absolutely terrible though.

When the ball is already in flight, the referee should wait a moment or two to see where the ball ends up, just to see whether there's an advantage to be applied or not. This is a lesson many referees have learned the hard way!

If the ball went into the goal after the deliberate handling (and assuming there were no attacking infractions), the referee should have allowed the goal (and not sent off the defender).