Question Number: 12202

Law 7 - Match Duration 2/14/2006

RE: Rec Under 16

John Lubeck of Livermore, CA USA asks...

This past weekend in a tournament game, the ref declared an end to the first half as one player received a ball facing away from the goal but inside the 18. She had a clear "turn and shoot" open shot but the half was called by the ref.

Is it normal for referees at any or all levels of the game to end halves during a non-consequential moment, i.e. not during a scoring opportunity?

Thanks very much in advance,

John Lubeck
Livermore YSL

Answer provided by Referee Richard Dawson

Hi John ,
a most excellent response by my colleague!

I have seen whistles blown as the ball is on its way into the goal.
No goal and in law 100% correct yet time is indeed relative and rarely to the milli second !

A smart referee will not make a rod for the back, if it can be avoided,
still if a defending team defends for the full time it is as unfair to ask them to defend longer as it would be to shorten the match and keep the attacking team from scoring.

Cheers

Answer provided by Referee Keith Contarino

Judging by the number of questions we get regarding ending a half, there must be a LOT of referees out there that stop a game when there's a chance to score. I can only say two things, 1. The half is over when the referee says it is. 2. There is always SOME reason to add a little time. There's always discussion about the fairness to a team about to score or that has a scoring opportunity when the game is ended. I'd simply reply, is it fair to the defending team to allow the attackers to proceed AFTER the game is over? Difficult choices.

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