Question Number: 20941

Law 7 - Match Duration 3/8/2009

RE: tier 1 Under 19

Brittany of New Ross, Nova Scotia Canada asks...

When is the referre allowed to end the game?
In the under 18 boys indoor game last night we had the ref. end the game when the ball was put in the other teams net.
His justification was that the game had ended 25 seconds before the ball actually went in the net.
How ridiculous is that?

Answer provided by Referee Gary Voshol

The game is over when all time, including compensation for lost time, has expired. The referee is the timekeeper, and also makes the decision of how much time needs to be added. Once all time is accounted for, it is unfair to add more. The ref should not wait for a 'neutral' time to stop the game. A team does not get an extra chance to score 'because they're attacking'. However, if time does expire just after the ball hits the netting, then that is it - the game is over. We don't do a kickoff just to make it look good.

Having said that, often during imminent attacks a referee will have more than enough to look at, and can't take the time to see whether the exact last second has ticked off on his watch. A couple seconds leeway is reasonable. 25 is not. He actually said the game had ended 25 seconds before the ball went in the goal? Then why hadn't the game ended? One can only wonder about the thought processes of some people. I sincerely hope this was a misunderstanding of what was said.

Answer provided by Referee Keith Contarino

I hope you heard wrong. If the referee said the game ended 25 seconds before the goal, then the goal would not count