Question Number: 31339

Kicks From The Penalty mark 3/12/2017

RE: Compeditive Under 13

Derek Wynne of Galway, Galway Ireland asks...

Penalty Kick:

A game drawn 1:1 after extra time goes to penalties. After 5 penalties each the score is Team A 4:3 Team B, so Team A should be the winning team. However the referee has miscounted and believes that the score is 4:4. He continues with the sudden-death part of the penalty shoot-out and the game ends at 5:6 awarding the win to Team B.

After the decision it was brought to the attention of the referee, who upon checking his notebook confirmed his mistake and immediately informed the teams that Team A were the winners.

A bit of a mess :-(, Team A, initially confused and disappointed, now happy. Team B initially confused and happy now disappointed. Team B appealing to the league to have the original result stand.

What is the correct outcome?

Answer provided by Referee Joe McHugh

Hi Derek
A poor error by the referee. However it does not change the FACT that Team A won the game on penalties as the score was 4-3 with five penalties taken by both teams. I assume that is not in dispute and the referee will confirm that score in his match report. Once confirmed by the referee the Laws of the Game state that the outcome is determined on five kicks and that if scores are tied then sudden death applies.
The team were not tied after five kicks so what happened after that was irrelevant and there is nothing to protest about once the referee confirms the score after five kicks each which was 4-3. Ultimately the League will decide based on the referees report. He will set out what happened and confirm the FACTS.
Team B can be somewhat upset that it had to go on with kicks and then thinking that it had won. Being upset about a wrong calculation though is not the basis of a protest. I do not even know what could be protested? The FACTS will speak from themselves and that is indisputable which will be in the referees report.

Answer provided by Referee Richard Dawson

Hi Derek.
in as simple as it sounds to keep track of the first 5 kicks or UNDERSTAND that when it goes to sudden death if after 5 shots the two teams are tied that both teams get a go REGARDLESS if the one shooting first scores first.

I have witnessed in at least ten matches where it seems this simple process goes astray

source .

The referee
Flipped a coin between the sudden death shootout and the 5 aside kicks to change the order of play.
Also one flipped a coin that did not change the order of play .
Declared a winner after the team scored on the 6th shot without allowing the other team to take their 6th shot .
Forgot who shot and permitted a player to go twice.
Added the number of misses to be hits and hits to be misses so wrong team declared winner .
Miscounted the number of shots and forgot so he redid the whole shootout over.
Insufficient light so he called it after the first team scored wrote them in as a winner without actually finishing 5 apiece . When a referee errors in the basic procedures it sets up possible problems

In your situation the referee will not decide who won, the facts of play that he chooses to submit will decide. The key would be the referee realizing the score after 5 shots apiece was 4 to 3 and that he had NO REASON to continue. I doubt any protest would succeed given the league disciplinary committee would be looking through the documentation the referee had of the event and whether the information was HIS decision not derived from a non neutral source. It does suck when a mistake occurs but the truth sets us free if it is in fact true. Cheers