Question Number: 24951

Law 10 - Method of Scoring 5/15/2011

RE: Rec/Travel Under 13

Joe of Sylvania, OH USA asks...

A player takes a shot from the left side of the field at a distance midway between the halfway line and the penalty box line. The shot hits the top of the goal and looks (from midfield spectators) as though it bounces almost straight down. The ball hits the ground, bounces about ten feet into the air, and then lands about five feet in front of the goal. The keeper catches the ball on the second bounce and prepares to punt it away at which point the side ref signals a goal.

After hitting the top of the goal the ball never hit any other part of the goal or net. The side ref's view was from an angle as she was not standing near the end line.

My questions are: Given the poor angle, would you have called this a goal? (Especially if it decided the outcome of the game.) Can you think of any way a ball could hit the top of the goal, land entirely inside the goal, and then bounce up and out without being trapped in the goal?

Thanks,
Joe

Answer provided by Referee Joe McHugh

Hi Joe
The referee and assistants are the sole judges of whether the ball crosses the goal line or not.
I have seen many shots hit the underside of the cross bar, hit the ground well beyond the goal line and come out again. The most recent high profile example was the Lampard shot in the World Cup for England against Germany. Has either of the two officials seen what was shown in the video, a goal would have been awarded. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ox8DzROIZjc
Referees can only give what they see and if a referee or assistant sees the ball crossing the goal line then a goal must be awarded.
I might add that the referee viewing the game who is perhaps 20 yards away compared to a midfield view is signifcantly better positioned to make a call. When I am acting as an assistant referee I frequently hear spectators 60 yards away commenting negatively on decisions made by an assistant or a referee who can be 10 yards away.

Answer provided by Referee Jason Wright

Hi Joe,

By the sounds of your post I suspect you may have had a contentious call against you recently!

At times, every assistant will find themselves having to make such a decision from an imperfect position - the ball simply moves faster than a person can. When that happens, we still need to make a decision. Even in that situation, the AR is still likely to be in a better position than the referee, and may still be in a reasonable position to make the call, if not a perfect one.

It is certainly possible for a ball to hit the crossbar, land wholly inside the goal then bounce out again. This can happen if the ball has quite a bit of spin on it (hitting the cross bar can certainly introduce a lot of spin), or if the ball bounces into the goal then hits an uneven patch of ground, sending it off at an angle.

Even being off the line, the AR would still be likely to have the best position out of anybody there to judge whether the ball has wholly crossed the line.

The AR would not have signalled the ball entering the goal unless he was 100% certain - it doesn't make a difference how critical the goal is, if you're not certain, you don't signal a goal.

Answer provided by Referee Dennis Wickham

If the referee is sure that a goal has been scored, the referee should allow the goal. It is very common for a spinning ball to hit the post, bounce inside the goal and then bounce forward.

If the referee is not sure, the referee should not.

Regardless of the decision, one-half of the players,coaches and spectators will be sure that the referee was wrong. Some will be unkind.