Question Number: 30064

Law 5 - The Referee 1/31/2016

RE: Intermediate Under 13

Phil of Tarzana, CA United States asks...

This question is a follow up to question 30061

Just to clarify something that wasn't mentioned. If the referee decided that the game was over (which would occur BEFORE the whistle is blown), that would end the game. I've seen other question/answers on this site where it was made clear that the relevant time is when a decision is made...not when the whistle is blown.

So if an attacker committed a foul & then immediately kicked the ball into the net before the whistle is blown, there would be no goal because the time of the decision is determinative. In fact, if an AR saw the foul & told the referee after the 'goal', but before a restart, the referee could nullify the goal & call the foul.

Of course, if the referee determined that time had ended & blew a whistle after a kick into the goal, they'd be hard pressed to deny the goal.

Answer provided by Referee Richard Dawson

Hi Phil,
true a whistle is an audible signal perhaps slightly after the fact but in cases where referees decide to go off menu they best be very very clear in the explanation! I think the question was more of a stats type, does it count as a corner kick cumulative to the match total or not, given it was not allowed to be taken. Not that the match had ended prior to the ball exiting.
Cheers

Answer provided by Referee Joe McHugh

Hi Phil
Yes you are correct. It is the moment the referee decides and the whistle signals that. In the game there is rarely any delay between them except in the delayed whistle scenarios where the referee has delayed the whistle for a second or so to see what emerges.
As regards ending the game on any type of dubious incident that is never ever a wise idea. Try telling a team that has a genuine penalty call or a goal scored that you had decided to end the game a second before that and the whistle sounding after the foul! That plainly should never happen.
Referees if they are going to end the game would be best served to do so before it gets to a critical decision. I recall the infamous Brazil v Sweden disallowed goal in 1978 from a corner kick where the referee Clive Thomas had decided to end the game with the ball in flight. It would have been much easier to just have blown up for full time before the kick and walk in.
https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=S0JFuWqwFg4
Would Brazil have had any real gripe if the whistle sounded and he then pointed to his watch that time had expired before the kick or indeed blew up before it got to a corner in the first place. The international career of Referees Thomas was adjudged to have gone downhill after that within FIFA.