Question Number: 35131

Law 12 - Fouls and Misconduct 10/1/2023

RE: Competitive Adult

Peter Babbage of Hjørring, Denmark asks...

A players shot looks certain to hit the post. A defender handles it and it goes wide. Clearly a penalty but is it DOGSO as the opposition now has a chance to score from the spot?

Answer provided by Referee Richard Dawson

HI Peter,
while it is true a the referee has the discretion to judge if a ball is ALREADY going wide, but a swerving ball destined for hitting the post might be difficult to set aside as not a shot at the goal which the HANDLING prevented. If indeed the referee stated NOT a shot ON goal in his opinion the handling did not deny a goal, the DFK offence of handling if inside the PA is 100% a PK but the card COULD be downgraded to yellow for an unsporting action thus a caution instead of a send off, reduce the team by a player for denying the goal. The fact a PK is awarded inside the PA for the deliberate action of handling the CRITERIA of DOGSO must all be met to add the extra ignominy of the red sleigh send off!
Cheers

Answer provided by Referee Joe McHugh

Hi Peter
In open play and at speed it is unlikely that a referee will be 100% certain the ball is not headed into the goal and as such the action will be seen as a deliberate attempt to deny an obvious goal.

It will be expected that the player should be dismissed for the offence and it will be very difficult to argue that it was going to hit a post or for that matter to go wide.

To not dismiss the player in such an obvious situation would create all sorts of problems for the referee. In many ways the player’s action is being done to stop a goal so a red card will not be unexpected whereas a caution will be.