Question Number: 26250

Law 10 - Method of Scoring 4/27/2012

RE: Adult

Dave of Manchester, England asks...

Can a referee ever award a goal even if one isn't scored. A good example would be the recent Barcelona Chelsea game at the nou camp. In the last minute Torres was clean through one on one with the keeper, but if the keeper had just deliberately grabbed him or fouled him to stop him then a sending off for the last 60 seconds of a game doesn't seem the correct punishment.

If the keeper fouls Torres, gets sent off then Barcelona can use the last minute or two to still try and get a goal to get to the final.

Therefore my question is: if the keeper had brought Torres down can the referee award a goal to Chelsea?

Answer provided by Referee Joe McHugh

Hi Dave
Most definitely not. A goal can only be awarded 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.
A perfect example of this was the Suarez incident while playing for Uruguay in the 2010 World Cup.
Suarez prevented Ghana's Dominic Adiyiah from scoring in the last minute of the game by deliberately handling the ball on the goal line. Suarez was correctly sent off and Asamoah Gyan missed the resultant penalty. Uruguay went on to win the game in the penalty shoot-out to make the World Cup semi final.
Some sports like rugby have what is called a penalty score where the referee has discretion to award a score based on what might happen had the team not committed the foul.
Soccer does not have such a law and a goal must be scored to be awarded. The Barca GK could have pulled Torres down, got sent off for denying an obvious goal scoring opportunity and then hoped for an equaliser, provided Chelsea did not score from the free kick. The GK though would miss the next game which is the final and it would be seen as poor sportsmanship.

Answer provided by Referee Dennis Wickham

No. The referee cannot predict what would have happened. (Who would have predicted that Messi would have missed the PK?) The laws provide only for a red card and free kick (or PK) unless a goal is actually scored.

Answer provided by Referee Keith Contarino

Never. The only way a goal may be scored is if all the requirements of Law 10 are met.