Question Number: 30337

Other 4/24/2016

RE: Any level Adult

Elly of Melbourne, VIC Australia asks...

This question is a follow up to question 28311

Given that a failure by the 'wronged' attacking team in this situation to score will result in the wrongdoer (the DOGSO offender) being sent off, would it be acceptable, from both a legal and ethical perspective, for the wrongdoer's team to deliberately score an own-goal in this situation, rather than facing a sent-off player and having to defend a penalty (which is an infamously tough thing to do, likely resulting in them conceding a goal in any case)? This would be the logical thing for the wrongdoer's team to do the moment they realized this had happened (and the referee makes the 'advantage' gesture) - would you, as referees, have any issue with the wrongdoer's team making this 'tactical' choice to deliberately kick the ball into their own net, to spare the wrongdoer a red card?

Answer provided by Referee Joe McHugh

Hi Elly
Once play stops that is not possible and a referee could not even countenance such a situation. Also FIFA / IFAB do not like uncontested goals as a solution and it has said so
The referee has to make a decision before the restart which is the penalty kick / free kick whether to send off the player or not based on the DOGSO criteria.
A team could theoretically score an own goal provided play was not stopped if it believed that the player would be dismissed which would then prevent the dismissal. In reality it never ever works out that way. The team will always consider that the foul will not be called and that play will not be stopped. The team will wait for the whistle and then it is too late to score the goal. Most if not every time the teams pressure the referee into not sending off the player with all sorts of excuses that it was either not a foul or that the DOGSO conditions were not present.
Simple for the team really. Do not commit the offence in the first place and the question does not arise. It is akin to teams substituting players on a caution for fear of an innocuous 2nd caution and a dismissal.
Anyway we will watch with interest how the new law change is used from 1st June onwards