Question Number: 23911

Law 7 - Match Duration 9/11/2010

RE: Adult

Deadlywill of Brisbane, Qld Australia asks...

At the end of added time in the second half - is the referee obliged to blow his/her whistle at the exactly when time is up or is it at his/her discretion to let the current attack play out and then blow the whistle?

Answer provided by Referee Joe McHugh

Hi
The referee ends the game when time has expired. It is a matter of discretion whether the referee blows exactly at the end of the allotted time or does the referee say find a few seconds to end a play. In a game of ninety minutes it is not unreasonable, while using the current timing method, to find 2/3 seconds. It is also not unreasonable to expect the ref to blow when his allocated time has expired wherever play may be.
Teams should always play to the final whistle in all circumstances

Answer provided by Referee Dennis Wickham

The referee is not required to decide 'I'll add 2 minutes and 14 seconds of added time' and then act as a chronometer. The referee has discretion to add for time lost during the match, and this permits a flexible notion about when the match should end. Many referees will use that discretion to end the match when there is not an imminent goal scoring opportunity. Most will wait until the ball is in play. The laws, however, do not require it.

That said, once the referee decides the match is over, it is over.

Answer provided by Referee Gene Nagy

Dear deadly fan, the referee is obliged to blow the whistle at the end of the game. There is no provision for extending time to see how an attack or any particular play is going to turn out except in a case when the time expires after a penalty has been called but has not yet been taken. There are a few things a referee must extend time like injury and he also has some discretion as to what he can extend time for but your example does not apply.
Common sense dictates that if the ball is in the air and about to enter the net, the referee should see if a goal materializes. I have called the game after a corner has been called but the team did not get the kick off in time.
Probably the most famous incident to do with this subject is when Welsh referee Clive Thomas blew the end of the game after Zico of Brazil took the corner kick but before it entered the net. The resulting goal would have been a win for Brazil over Sweden but Thomas said time had expired DURING THE FLIGHT OF THE BALL. From this and other antics his nickname became Clive 'By the Book' Thomas. He was right but he never got another World Cup game.
So you see there is some leeway, which is very different from hockey or basketball.