Question Number: 35320

Law 10 - Determining the Outcome of a Match 1/5/2024

RE: Professional

Jim of Edwards, Mo Benton asks...

Can a player other than the goalie stop the ball from scoring a goal

Answer provided by Referee Richard Dawson

HI Jim
kind of a funny question?
Any of the defending field players can BLOCK a shot using their body or clear the ball off the goal line with a kick or header to prevent a goal as long as they do NOT deliberately use their hands in the process .
Yet I remind all, it is NOT illegal for a defender to accidentally block a shot, if the referee is of the opinion the ball HIT the hands and the player in no way contributed to it or could not have possibly prevented it.

Only the teams keeper is permitted the use of his hands and ONLY inside his own PA!

There is a special DOGSO H where if a shot is stopped illegally with the hands the player doing so is shown the red card & sent off, reducing his team by a player. Unfortunately a referee can not arbitrarily award a goal, even if 100% certain the ball would have scored completely crossing the goal line, under the crossbar, between the posts, in live play.

So too if we whistle a stoppage too early and AFTER doing so, the ball does indeed completely crossed the goal line, under the crossbar, between the posts, it would not count as play is NO longer live! Many a referee wished he had delayed his whistle in such circumstances!

I recall a old Whitecaps match, I think against Winnipeg Fury where A CLEAR DOGSOh incident was occurring, a deliberate handling right on the goal line, smacked away by a Vancouver defender. The ball was 100% prevented from entering the goal and it bounced right back to the foot of another onside Fury player who was already shooting the ball back into the goal JUST as the CR was blowing the whistle for the deliberate handling .

However, it was VERY clear that the ball had NOT yet completely crossed the goal line but was certainly in the process of doing so with no other defender near and as the whistle sound ended the ball was firmly in the back of the netted area. Basically now EVERBODY was staring at the referee awaiting the call.

Now the CORRECT restart in law was a PK and show the red card, sending the defender off for DOGSO. Yet the CR knowing he had made a mess of it, wandered over to the AR and said something like, "No chance it was over? Sigh JUST killing time pretending to talk it over. Never mind I will take this and signaled a goal then cautioning the defender for deliberately trying but failing to stop the goal as USB .

Winnipeg was happy, they got the go ahead goal and a relived defender & Vancouver team was not down a player for the last 3rd of the match . He was pillared in the post match but the two teams on the field accepted the decision so all on all, it turned out ok. lol NO VAR back then!

The restart is either a DFK if the deliberate handling was outside the PA ( this includes the keeper by the way, as outside the PA, he is just a common defender, as are all 11)
OR
a PK if anyone BUT the keeper inside the PA.

A Keeper INSIDE his own PA can not be guilty of a deliberate handling infraction punishable by a DFK as all DFKs are upgraded to PK status inside the PA.
HOWEVER!
If the keeper illegally handles the ball due to specific handling restrictions (a 2nd touch violation or deliberate kick from a teammate) the opposition is awarded an INDFK from the point this occurs inside the PA (subject to the special circumstances of the goal area where no INDFK occurs closer than the goal area line which parallels the goal line 6 yds away)
Cheers

Answer provided by Referee Joe McHugh

Hi Jim
Thanks for the question. Not sure what prompted it but glad to be able to answer.

If you think about it all of the team that are defending are trying to prevent their opponents from scoring on their goal using whatever legals means that they can.

As you know the only player on the team though that can use hands and arms is the goalkeeper inside the penalty area and for that reason the GK tends to stay inside the penalty area so as to be most effective. Yet team mates can and do use every other part of the body to prevent the ball crossing the goal line be it heading, kicking, chesting the ball away.

In fact some clearances by defenders close to the goal line are considered great feats of defending with high praise from team mates, supporters etc
Here are plenty examples
https://youtu.be/PaaZxPh0A-o?si=3KT6KS72r7XS0Qeb


Now if a defender other than the goalkeeper stops the ball destined for the goal with a hand or arm that player has denied an obvious goal illegally which is a sending off offence and a red card. The restart is a penalty kick after the offender leaves the field of play and surrounds.

So there you have it