Question Number: 19278

Law 10 - Method of Scoring 6/5/2008

RE: rec Under 14

todd stevenson of verdun, canada asks...

the ref got hit with the ball,he was in a bad place,inside 18 near our net,we kicked the ball out ,it hit him,other team got possession and scored right away....what is the ruling.....thanks

Answer provided by Referee Richard Dawson

Other than telling your defenders not to kick the ball at him, the ruling is the referee must anticipate, position better, move faster and get out of the way sooner, it is a goal, restart kick off and a red faced referee!
Cheers

Answer provided by Referee Michelle Maloney

The goal will count, the referee will be forever embarrassed, and hopefully learned a valuable positioning lesson. Perhaps also you and your mates need to keep an eye out for where the ball is going too - it could have just as easily have hit an attacking player as the referee...

Answer provided by Referee Gary Voshol

The referee is considered to be a part of the field, the same as a goal frame, the corner flag, or a clod of dirt. When the ball ricochets weirdly off the referee, one team is going to be happy and the other not.

I got hit by the ball twice by the U19 girls last week. The first time I joked it off - told her that I try to stay out of the way, but that's why they give us those bright yellow shirts so everyone can see us. (Except the U10 boys, who seem to aim for me.) The second time I took a shot in the gut just below the belt - I wasn't in a joking mood then. Like your game, it was an attempted clear from the PA. (Although I was outside the area, and presumably in as good a position as any other; the ball just came my way.)

Generally the higher the level of play, the easier it is to see what they want to do with the ball and where you should position yourself as referee. Sometimes there's just no good place to be, or the place that was an excellent position 1/2 second ago is suddenly right in the firing line.