Question Number: 22252

Law 10 - Method of Scoring 10/15/2009

RE: Rec,Select Under 19

Bob Rich of Cincinnati, OH USA asks...

On a high arcing shot the goalie catches the ball above his head. In jockeying for position on the shot a defender bumps an attacker who bumps the goalie w/ball into the goal.The goal was disallowed and goalie allowed to keep possession. Is this the correct call? Must a foul be called to keep this from being a goal? If the defender bumps his own goalie into the goal what would be the correct call? What is the correct restart?

Answer provided by Referee Dennis Wickham

The referee will have some tough decisions to make. But, the ball entered the goal, and thus, it is a goal unless the referee decides that a foul previously occurred.

Did the defender commit a foul on the attacker? A charging foul must be careless or reckless. Was this incidental contact or a foul. If it was a foul, then a penalty kick would be awarded to the attacker. Should the referee allow an advantage? With the ball in the possession of the keeper, there should be no reason for an advantage. But, even if the referee watched to see what happens next, advantage does not excuse a subsequent foul by the attacker. Which leads to the question:

Did the attacker commit a foul against the goalkeeper? The foul of interfering with the keeper's possession of the ball is not one of the seven fouls that must be done in a careless manner. It is a 'done or not done' event. Did the attacker interfere with the keeper's possession? Could one conclude that the attacker was only an instrument by which the defender interfered with the keeper's possession? The referee must decide. In addition, the attacker made contact with the keeper in possession. The direct free kick foul, charging, must be done in a careless manner. Again, the referee must decide.

The judgment calls by the referee frame the correct restart:

1) foul by defender, advantage, no foul by attacker, goal;

2) no foul by defender, foul by attacker, indirect or direct free kick for defense where contact made with keeper.

3) penalty kick.

4) No foul by anyone, goal.

The least controversial decision may be the penalty kick. It focuses on the one player who is not an 'innocent' - the defender who started the chain reaction. But, the referee's decision what happens isn't based on which will result in the least dissent, or widest acceptance. Referees earns their pay on decisions like this.

Answer provided by Referee Joe McHugh

Hi Referee Rich
The referee has to decide if the 1st challenge, that is the bump by the defender into the attacker was a foul. If the answer to that is yes then the correct decision is a penalty. If the answer is no then he has to decide if the bump by the attacker into the keeper is a foul. If the answer is yes then it a direct free kick out. If the answer is no then he allows the goal.
These type of incidents all happen together and invariably there is a coming together of all three that makes it difficult to determine the sequence. If the 1st foul is plainly obvious where say the defender clearly pushes the forward into the keeper then penalty for me. If it is not so obvious then the 'best' decision is the free kick out as the keeper was in possession of the ball and that foul will look the more obvious in a three way challenge

Answer provided by Referee Keith Contarino

Law 10 tells us :

A goal is scored when the whole of the ball passes over the goal line, between
the goalposts and under the crossbar, provided that no infringement of the
Laws of the Game has been committed previously by the team scoring the
goal.

Obviously, the first part of Law 10's statement occurred. A goal WAS scored unless there was a prior infringement of any Law by the team that scored the goal OR if play had stopped before the goal was scored.

From your description, it's hard for me to rationalize that the attacker fouled the keeper. What you describe is a teammate of the keeper pushing or charging an opponent into his keeper and knocking the keeper into the goal ball and all. So, to me, this comes down to: was the ball in play? In order for the teammate of the keeper to be called for either direct free kick foul of pushing or charging an opponent, the push or charge would have to have been committed in at least a careless manner. That is to say, a push or charge is not automatically a foul. It has to be, in the opinion of the referee, to have been done in at least a careless manner. FIFA defines careless in the Laws Of The Game :

Careless? means that the player has shown a lack of attention or
consideration when making a challenge or that he acted without precaution.

Doing something "accidently", as what likely happened here, can still be considered careless if the referee believes the defender wasn't paying enough attention and, although accidently, did carelessly push or charge the opponent.

The referee in your question obviously decided that the keeper's teammate did nothing wrong and that the attacker pushed or charged the keeper into the goal. If this is the case then the correct decision is to disallow the goal and restart with a direct free kick for the keeper's team taken anywhere in the goal area as the action almost certainly took place in the goal area.

You ask is this the right call? I don't know as I didn't see the action. My GUESS is that a goal should have been awarded as it appears, to me, the attacker did nothing wrong and I don't think the teammate of the keeper fouled the attacker.

You also ask must a "foul" be called in order to keep this from being a valid goal. No. Law 10 says any infringement so misconduct could also keep the goal from being allowed as well as any foul.

Finally you ask if a teammate of the keeper knocks the keeper into the goal and the ball crosses over the goal line in accordance with Law 10, what is the result. Law 10 specifically states that for the goal to be waved off an infringement by the team SCORING the goal would have to have happened before the ball went over the line into the net. The team scoring the goal is the opposing team so a player knocking his own keeper into the goal, scoring a goal, would have the goal count and the restart is a kick-off for the keeper's team