Question Number: 20218

Law 8 - Start and Restart of Play 10/11/2008

RE: Adult

Tony of Sydney, Australia asks...

Refs,

What do you do if the team that kicked off in the first half also kicks off for the second half and you only realise this say 10 minutes or so into the second half after a goal has been scored?

Does your answer also apply if the teams attack the same goal in both halves and the ref finally realises this 20 minutes into the second half?

Oop's!

Answer provided by Referee Gary Voshol

This is why you write in your book who has taken the kickoff and which way it went. I'll often forget it from first to second half, especially if I'm working more than one youth game at the field. Heck, sometimes I can't remember who won the coin toss when we take the field for the 1st half kickoff!

Should you make either of these mistakes and not realize them until after a significant length of time like this, you simply continue to play. You should include details of why you are so absent-minded in your game report, provided you don't have another lapse of memory after the game.

Answer provided by Referee Michelle Maloney

I suppose the game could be protested, because Law 8 is very specific about who does what when and where. However, I'm with Ref Voshol in thinking the best medicine is for the referee and his notes - make them!!

The poor old brain has a lot of work to do in a game, and if you are doing multiple games, life gets complicated and the brain jettisons anything not immediately relevant. So be forward thinking and make a clear note for yourself in your book so there won't be any confusion.

It's hard to imagine neither team noticed or said anything, and that neither AR did either. Must have been trifling...