Question Number: 19934

Law 13 - Free Kicks 9/13/2008

RE: first grade Adult

martin leedham of north nowra, nsw australia asks...

if a ref blows the whistle and awards a indirect free kick (holding his arm in the air)then the ball goes into the back of the net , the linesmen holding the flag accross his chest is called onto the feild
after talking to the linesman he awards the goal is the ref allowed to do this by doing so allowed the opposition to win the grand final martin

Answer provided by Referee Richard Dawson

I am a bit unsure what are you are saying?
Did the referee STOP play and award an indfk?

An indirect kick CAN NOT go directly into the goal .
There MUST be a second touch.
A SMART keeper will NOT react to the ball directly entering the goal knowing it was indirect because a goal kick is the result.
If the referee incorectly SIGNALED an INDFK and it was a DFK offence the kick is to be retaken.

OR are you indicating the referee blew the whistle was indicating an indfk offence but the ball was crossing the goal line as he was signalling? Perhaps he was signalling a goal and confirming with the AR that no infringmet had occured before the ball had crossed the goal line?

We have no knowledge of what the referee and AR talked about. For us to speculate on a motive is never going to happen A referee with integrity sees what he sees . Unfortunately here I am hesitant to confirm or deny anything but as my colleagues REf Volshol and REf Contarino points out the conversation could very well have been confirming a second touch occurred or even the offence was a DFK inside the PA and a penalty.
Cheers

Answer provided by Referee Gary Voshol

Perhaps the AR indicated to the referee that there was a second touch on the ball that the referee missed seeing. If the referee accepts this information, then the goal is valid. The referee has up until the time of the next restart to change his opinion.

Answer provided by Referee Keith Contarino

I'm gathering from what you describe that the AR indicated to the referee that the kick should have been a DFK not the IFK the referee awarded. IF that's the case, the referee CANNOT arbitrarily decide to award a goal. He signaled for an indirect free kick. If he accepts that it should have been a direct free kick, the kick must be retaken as would only be fair. Or, as Ref Voshol suggested, perhaps the AR saw a first and second touch before the ball crossed over the goal line.