Question Number: 30260

Law 12 - Fouls and Misconduct 4/6/2016

RE: College

Abhiyan Bista of Kathmandu, Nepal asks...

Explain me about the disallowed goal of Gareth Bale, on El-Classico, 2nd april, 2016. And about Yellow card on him and Ronaldo, sorry for, i haven't seen the referee showing yellow to C. Ronaldo. I dont know the reason.
And last question what if referee(or linesman) did a clear mistake (like showing yellow to a person who haven't committed foul, or disallowed goal which was not fouled of offside)(I don't know about Gareth Case as it is not clearly watchable). I mean clearly watchable, even viewers can identify that.
Case 1st - what if it was complained to the Authority after game?
Case 2nd - what if it was not complained, is there any reward or marking system for referee, as he has committed serious mistake according to LOTG, I think.

Answer provided by Referee Joe McHugh

Hi Abhiyan
I suspect that the Bale disallowed goal was for the use of the arm in the back of Alba. The Barcelona player certainly makes a meal of the contact and it may have looked like a possible push / holding down with the arm by Bale. The referee was not well placed and given what he saw from a poor angle of view adjudged what he gave.
As regards the yellow card for Ronaldo I suspect it was for dissent. Ronaldo was close to the referee at the time of the disallowed goal so no doubt he said something to the referee about the call.
Now in respect of mistaken identity that can be corrected afterwards with the correct player being sanctioned. In respect of match errors such as an incorrect offside call or a penalty awarded in error or the Bale incident there is no way to deal with those after the game. The error must be corrected before the next restart of play.
However if the referee or an AR has made a significant match error that will result in the officials marks for the game being reduced. A series of reduced mark will result in demotion. In some games the referee may be on a performance bonus to manage the game without error. Clearly a match changing error will result in the bonus being lost and a poor mark on the referee or assistants record.

Answer provided by Referee Richard Dawson

HI Abhiyan.
From the view of the replays and my gut was that looked like a perfectly good goal. No offside and the defender backed into him. The CR and AR consulted which means the CR was unsure and used the AR view as confirmation that something was amiss. The only thing I can come up with is the CR believed that Garth pushed the defender in the back. I would take exception except I have no input! His match. His decision. His reputation.

The match report shows a yellow for Ronaldo at 81 minutes. I will assume it was likely was for dissent at the taking away of the goal. This match meant something to the players!

Decision made on an event SEEN by the CR cannot be undone even if video later shows they were incorrect as they are a fact of play unless the restart is incorrect for why he stopped. An offside or the Bale disallowed goal are examples where the result stands. If say the CR cautioned or sent off the wrong player thinking it was correct the match is not protestable but the punishment would be dealt with differently as video is used to determine certain aspects of fairness. The fact is EVERY high level match is a TEST for the officials involved, their actions are scrutinized and carefully evaluated by MANY others! They are taken to task when the screw up just as they receive thumbs up for doing well. If they screw up badly or too often they will not be top rated officials for long. Performance bonus aside ,no referee has a 100% accuracy rate in every situation, as the ESSE incident in 1998 proves, sometimes what the referee sees is exactly what occurs! But like any job there are consequences both pro and and con depending on how well you do your job based on what others think not necessarily what you believe to be true!!
Cheers