Question Number: 15295

Law 3 - Number of Players 4/26/2007

RE: Select Under 16

Don Ackerson of Rockwall, Texaas USA asks...

I observed an interesting situation last weekend. At the start of the second half, the ref counted players and somehow missed the 12th on Team B. Team A kicks off and immediately loses the ball. Team B takes it in and scores in the first few seconds. To the ref's credit, he senses something is amiss and begins to count players. Team A's coach picks up on this and and starts screaming "No goal! Too many players!" The ref goes to both coaches and says something. He then waves off the goal and restarts the second half. We found out later he told the coaches his watch had not started so he just restarted the 2nd half, disallowing the goal. Interesting way to solve a problem, but is it correct?

Answer provided by Referee Keith Contarino

It was incorrect. If he actually hadn't started his watch, he HAD started play so if he stopped play it would have to have been before the goal and the restart would have been a dropped ball after he figured out what the correct time was. He disallowed the goal due to there being 12 players on the scoring team. The restart is an IFK

Answer provided by Referee Gary Voshol

Not entirely, but at least he got the biggest thing right by disallowing the goal. The goal is denied because the team scoring the goal infringed the Laws during the apparent score.

FIFA Q&A 3.27 says, "A team playing with twelve players scores a goal and the referee notices it before the restart of play. What action does he take?

"The goal is not awarded. Play is restarted with an indirect free kick to the opposing team in the goal area*. The twelfth player is cautioned for unsporting behaviour and is instructed to leave the field of play."

If the ref noticed his watch wasn't running, he should have just started it right then, and estimated how much time he had missed. Or asked his AR, who was backing him up on time, how much time had ticked off.

Answer provided by Referee Chuck Fleischer

Ref Voshol offers the most important aspect of this one, get it right in there can be no goal because the Laws of the Game have been infringed. The restart of play, barring making something up, is going to be as specified by the Law infringed and that says indirect free kick IF the referee stops play to deal with the infringement. Looking further along if the gent scoring the goal just happens to be the 12th man FIFA's Q&A 3.17 demands we restart with an indirect free kick in the goal area.

There, we have two votes for indirect free kick as the proper restart, BUT don't these restarts deal with specific circumstances?

First the referee counted and stopped things before anything untoward happened, indirect where the ball was as per Law 3.

Second the referee counted after the goal stopped play and then found the goal scorer the 12th man, indirect in the goal area as per Q&A 3.17.

And third the referee counted after the goal stopped play and then found the the 12th man, indirect in the goal area as per Q&A 3.27.

Regards,