Question Number: 12891

Law 7 - Match Duration 5/26/2006

RE: competitive Under 18

Mark McKenna of North Lanarkshire, Scotland asks...

before ending the 1st half/2nd half should the official wait till the ball is in a neutral position of the field before calling time

Answer provided by Referee Chuck Fleischer

No, when time is up the match ends. However the referee may add time, at his discretion, for that lost due to substitutions, evaluating injuries, removing the injured, time wasting or any other cause. That usually means time just happens to be up when there is a "neutral" ball. Funny how that works...

Regards,

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Answer provided by Referee Ben Mueller

Correct, time is up and the game ends. It is not like basketball when we have to wait for ball to hit ground. Like Mr. Fleischer said though usually we wait tell it is in a neutral position to end game. As Always,

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Answer provided by Referee Keith Contarino

Once the referee has decided that regular time and all added time is up, the half or game is over. Most referees find that this, amazingly, coincides when there is no scoring opportunity.

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