Question Number: 31202

Law 5 - The Referee 1/25/2017

RE: Competitive Adult

Krez of Bogalusa, LA United States asks...

Time is about to expire. There is a deliberate handball in the box and the AR raises his flag. The referee does not see the flag or the foul and blows to end the game. The AR calls the referee over and they talk. He then calls the players back on and award the penalty.

Can the referee award a penalty after he ends the game?

Answer provided by Referee Richard Dawson

Hi Krez,
YES he can because he can act on the advice of the AR as a NEUTRAL official that the DFK foul which HE did not see, thus had made no decision, occurred PRIOR to the end of the match.
A DFK foul is upgraded to PK status if the location occurs inside the offenders own penalty area. Realistically this would need to occur fairly quickly before everyone dispersed to be credible!
The match can ALWAYS be extended for a PK!
Cheers

Answer provided by Referee Joe McHugh

Hi Katz
Poor mechanics by the referee has caused this. Had he seen the flag he would not have signalled as he did.
Now that does not change the fact that a foul occurred before the referee signalled the end of the game in which case the referee can act on the assistant referees advice and award the penalty kick.
The relevant section of the Law states and I quote * 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* The AND part is an important one as in your case the referee has not left the field of play and he has decided that the game was not terminated.
That penalty kick will be the last action of the game.