Question Number: 22418

Law 7 - Match Duration 11/1/2009

RE: Select Under 15

Carlos of Atlanta, GA USA asks...

Can a soccer game ends from a corner kick before the player touch the ball ?

Answer provided by Referee Jason Wright

Absolutely!

Time is up when the referee's watch ticks over past that final second.
While many referees will allow one final attacking move or restart before ending the half, the laws of the game say nothing about this. Also, there is no law against ending a half which the ball is out of play.

After all, if the players couldn't score in the allotted time period, surely it's unfair to the defence to allow a few extra seconds to see if they can have another go?

Having said that, determining stoppage time can be quite imprecise at times - this is what allows a referee to 'get away with' the practice of waiting until the ball is in 'neutral territory'. But like I said, this practice isn't actually supported in the laws of the game, but due to the imprecision of stoppage time it may not be explicitly against the laws of the game either.

If the league has a rule of no stoppage time (many leagues in Australia have that rule, as there simply isn't enough time between games to accommodate stoppage time) then there is no basis for extending time for one more attack.

I'm also far less inclined to permit that last restart if the attacking team is taking their sweet time about it.

Answer provided by Referee Gary Voshol

Yes, the game can end when the ball is out of play (for any reason) when time has expired.

I recall one game when I was AR. The ref was looking at his watch as the player retrieved the ball for a corner kick. I mumbled to the player, 'Better hurry.' The player dithered around getting the perfect lie for the ball, and then looked for a teammate to kick to. The referee blew the whistle to end the half.

If a player is hustling to get the ball in play, I'll probably evaluate whether or not I've accounted for all lost time. But if the team isn't in any hurry to get the game restarted, I'm not going to assist them in extending time beyond what I have determined the end should be.

Answer provided by Referee Joe McHugh

Hi
One of the most famous timing incidents came in the 1978 World Cup game between Brazil V Sweden where the referee Mr Clive Thomas blew for half time exactly on 45 minutes while the ball was in the air from a Brazilian corner kick and the goal was disallowed. The video link here captures the incident

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QsZ2Qfuwc_Q

Time is up when the referee decides and there is no requirement for the ball to be in or out of play nor in any position on the field of play.