Question Number: 18991

Law 7 - Match Duration 5/5/2008

RE: Girls State Cup Under 16

Steve of Vero Beach, FL USA asks...

Two questions here.

U-15 teams play 40 min halves in this league. I added 3 min. due to subs, an injury, mandatory hydration break (FYSA Rule) and dead time from players having to chase the ball.

At the end of the 40 min. 2nd half the score was tied 1 - 1. I signaled 3 min. to both benches. The white team scores at about the 1:30 min mark of allowed time. Play continues and as the final seconds are ticking away, the red team scores. As white is getting the ball out of the net to set up a KO, time expires and I blow the whistle to end the match. Did I follow proper procedure here, or should I allow more time due to the 2 goals scored (in HS clock stops and many of them are used to that).

Second Question: During the tying goal for red, a red attacker was over the goal line and between the goal posts (inside the goal). Her momentum had carried her into that position. There were 2 defenders on the goal line in addition to the keeper, trying to clear the ball. The red player, who was in the net did not interfere with play. I deemed the red player to be on the field of play, on the goal line at the point she left the pitch. Since there were 3 opponents also on the goal line, I deemed that she was on side. Since she did not interfere with play, it should have been a mute point anyway. My AR concurred with me, but the White team coach and several players were not very happy with the call. Did we interpret Law 11 correctly? Would it have made any difference if the defenders had been playing off of the goal line, putting the attacker in an offside position, but still not effecting play?

Answer provided by Referee Gary Voshol

Steve, I presume when you totalled up the time to be added as 3 minutes, all of this time was lost in the 2nd half. And that you had added time, as necessary, to the end of the first half as well.

USSF has been issuing weekly updates lately called Lessons Learned. They can be found in the "Topics of Interest" link at ussoccer-data.com. One of these gems has been how to handle added time. The instruction has been given that if the referee signals 3 minutes of added time, that means *at least* 3 minutes. Don't round up 2 min 40 sec to be 3 minutes - signal that as 2 minutes. Also noted was that during the added time, additional delays could happen which would require tacking on even more added time. It seems that in your game you could have added a few more seconds to compensate for the time lost by those two goals. Still, the Laws tell us that the amount of time to be added is at the discretion of the referee. So if you felt there was no wastage, you were correct to end the game as you did.

As for the player inside the net, you are correct that as long as she doesn't become involved in play, there are no offside considerations. Since we can't extend the field infinitely in any direction as needed to cover any positioning contingency, the instruction has been given that players temporarily (and legally) off the field are to be considered on the line nearest their position. So you are correct, with 3 defenders also on the line, there would be no offside positioning.

A defender who moves off the field in an attempt to put an attacker in an offside position has committed misconduct, specifically unsporting behavior. The referee should caution and show the yellow card to the player, but only after play has been stopped for another reason. Don't stop play to caution, or you have participated in the defender's attempt to unfairly disadvantage the opponents.

Answer provided by Referee Richard Dawson

Your discrestion to end is your decision no one elses if in your opinion the full 40 minutes were played the match is over.
It is NOT an offence to be offside positioned.
If that offside positioned player does not interfere with the opponents then no infringment .
To be on the goal line any playable body part that enters that 5 inch goal line that player is on the goal line just as any player off the field through momentum.

One of the most bizarre offside situations I was in attendance of was in similar circumstances where an attacking player was stopped by the keeper and with a defender on either side right at the goal line she fell and wound up a bit winded lying on her chest just inside the netted area. The ball has deflected back towards the top of the penalty area and there were three opponents one which was the keeper standing over the goal line under the crossbar near this player who I had judged as not seriously hurt so play was allowed to continue. In comes the shot, the three opponents step out away from the goal towards the ball which winds up smashing into the attacking playe?rs butt as she was getting herself off the ground it had not completely crossed the goal line in my opinion at that time but it deflected out onto the defender back calf and rolled back in across the goal line for a perfectly good if somewhat unusual goal.
Lots of hollering there too I can tell you as the attacker looked visibly in behind the three defenders. Most players are unaware that being outside field in behind the goal line is viewed the same as being on the goal line and the fact there were at least two opponents there at the time of the shot puts them EVEN for offside positional evaluation. Cheers