Question Number: 31004

Law 5 - The Referee 11/7/2016

RE: Adult

Bob pluck of BAGSHOT, SURREY United Kingdom asks...

Can a referee score a goal ?
I recently watched a local game a corner was taken and the goalkeeper punched the ball out to the edge of the penalty area
All the players and the referee started to move out when a attacking player on the edge of the penalty area had a shot which was going to miss the goal by a good distance when it hit the referee and went Into the goal. Should the goal stand
The ref on this occasion disollowed the goal on the grounds that a referee cannot be credited with scoring a goal

Answer provided by Referee Joe McHugh

Hi Bob
It would be wrong to say that a referee can score a goal yet if the ball hits a referee it is the same as the ball hitting the frame of the goal before entering the goal. The goal is credited / scored by the player who kicked the ball last. The referee is just part of play so the referee was incorrect in Law to disallow the goal. Put it another way. Should the ball hit the referee elsewhere on the field of play would the referee stop play?
In this very old example the only decision that could be made was a goal
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=M_euHnegML8
I suspect that in your example the referee made what was a politically correct decision to deal with the embarrasment of what happened yet one that was not correct or supported in Law. If it hit the referee hard enough he could opine that he turned away or was temporarily incapacitated which did not allow him see the full outcome of the shot to make a call. Other than that no reason in Law to disallow the goal.

Answer provided by Referee Richard Dawson

Hi Bob,
he can certainly CAUSE a goal by getting in the way, likely irritating the one team. pleasing the other. However, he would be VERY unpopular in scoring one on his own initiative as that could get him severely hurt! lol! As per your description? That was a legal goal and did not require the referee to disallow it. The referee is considered as part of the field conditions rather like goal or corner post. It is the same as if the ball had hit these items, play continues until it is out of play. The referee will likely feel bad and WANT to find a reason to disallow but that is not the job of a neutral official.

Effective positioning boils down to what we call situational awareness, anticipate, go to where you are needed and try to sty out of the way. Still there will be the odd time you get blindsided from a redirected or fast moving ball off a crazy angle to embarrasses the heck out of you! As long as it does not occur regularly, because then you are not learning the flow of the game or the teams are terribly unskilled and fire the ball any which way! lol
Cheers

Answer provided by Referee Peter Grove

Hi Bob,
As much as I might sympathise with his predicament, the referee in this case was wrong to disallow the goal for the reason he stated. The referee is considered to be a part of the field and in this situation, analogous to a goal post or corner flag. No referee would disallow a goal when the ball comes off the post using the rationale that a post cannot score a goal. Unfortunately for the defending team, there is no legal reason this goal should not stand.