Question Number: 30440

Law 10 - Method of Scoring 5/21/2016

RE: AYSO Under 15

Graham Brown of Chicago, Il USA asks...

The ball is kicked and the goalie pushes the ball over the top of the bar and it goes behind the net and into the street, The referee awards a goal kick. The AR informs the ref that he saw the ball go under the top bar and through what he said was small hole at the top of the net. A goal was awarded.

Was it the right call? Is that in the AR's purview?

Thanks,
Graham

Answer provided by Referee Joe McHugh

Hi Graham
I cannot say if it was the right call or not. The assistant referee is there to advise the referee on matters such as this. Did the ball enter the goal or not? Clearly if the referee saw the ball go wide he would not award a goal. If the assistant saw the ball enter the goal then the only decision is a goal.
Now it probably brings into question the netting and whether it could happen. I once had a situation where I knew there was a repair in the net as I saw in in my pre match net check and during the game a strong shot hit the net in that exact spot of the repair and went through due to the nylon repair giving way. I was 200% certain that a goal was scored and most if not all agreed on the FOP except for the coach of the conceding team. There was absolutely no doubt about the goal. The coach tried to question how the ball was not caught by the net. I asked for the net to be repaired and restarted with a kick off.
Have a look at these examples
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bT5HaZ5jw_E
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xUSOgEO-q3M
Had an AR or 4th official saw that the ball did not enter the goal the referee could change his mind and restart with a goal kick. As it was the correct decisions were made
Here is one that should not have been given
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BNA88mlls8c

Answer provided by Referee Gary Voshol

The new Laws of the Game for 2016-17 states:
'The referee may not change a decision on realising that it is incorrect or on the advice of another match official if play has restarted or the referee has signalled the end of the first or second half (including extra time) and left the field of play or terminated the match. '

Previous versions of the Laws had a more positive read on this, that the referee could change a decision when advised by an assistant, provided the game had not been restarted.

Either way, the referee may accept the view of the referee that the goal was scored as long as the game had not been restarted.

Answer provided by Referee Jason Wright

Hi Graham,
The AR is there to assist the referee in all decisions where assistance is required. Certainly, determining whether the ball has entered the goal is one key decision for the AR to assist with, and for something like this the AR would typically be better placed to see than the referee. From side on you can see if the ball crossed the field side or the goal side of the crossbar, which would be extremely difficult to see from the middle of the field.

I have had scenarios like this where a gap in netting has appeared during the match - and either the ball has slipped out of the netting outside the goal, or slipped through the netting into the goal. In these cases, the AR's input is invaluable.

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

See Question: 30833