Question Number: 34525

Law 12 - Fouls and Misconduct 3/10/2022

RE: School team Under 11

Dan Watkins of Bracknell , Uk asks...

Attacking team takes a throw in which goes straight into the defending teams box. A defender then deliberately hand balls it into his own goal.
Penalty or does the goal stand?

Thanks!

Answer provided by Referee Richard Dawson

Hi Dan,
We generally allow advantage to a team which benifits from an illegal act by their opposition if it is plausable. In this case a goal resulting from the defender attempting to clear a throw in (at the age a pretty good chuck in from the touchline) creates the 2nd touch which permits goal to be scored as a throw in CAN NOT be scored directly.

It is difficult for any player to simply allow a ball to enter their goal unless they completely get that the goal will not count BECAUSE it requires a 2nd touch. It would be a goal kick out as it was an attacking throw in.

There is no reason to not award the goal and restart kick off. If the deliberate handling actually prevented a goal then a PK with a caution as DOGSO is NOT likely applicable given there would be no goal if the ball had continued directly into the goal.

If the deliberate handing occurred due to a defender swatting it away from the foot of an attacker thus preventing said attacker from kicking the ball into the goal then the DOGSO criteria could be met. PK since it was inside the PA and red card reducing the team by a player.
Cheers

Answer provided by Referee Joe McHugh

Hi Dan
In the incident described the best decision is to play advantage and to award the goal. As there cannot be a red card for denying a goal if the thrown in ball was destined directly for the goal then a penalty award can be correct with no red card assuming of course that advantage was not played. To not play advantage and award the goal runs the risk of the penalty being missed / saved which would benefit the offending team.

Whether the defender should be cautioned or not is a matter for the referee. The Laws tells us that a player should be cautioned if handles the ball in an attempt to score a goal (whether or not the attempt is successful) or in an unsuccessful attempt to prevent a goal. As a goal cannot be scored nor has a promising attack been stopped it fails in my opinion to meet the caution threshold of preventing something other than a goal kick so I would not be cautioning in this instance. It is not absolute so there is referee discretion on the yellow card.

Now in a game situation an eager referee on a penalty decision may call the penalty early in which case the only possible decision is a penalty kick. I recall in the 2006 Champions League final when the referee did not play an obvious advantage and disallowed a goal restarting with a free kick. He later said it was a misjudgment not to play advantage and he said that he was so focussed on the foul and a red card that he called the foul too early. The better decision was to have played advantage and to have awarded the goal. It took until the 81st minute for Barcelona to score an equaliser. against Arsenal and go on to win.

The game is about scoring goals so the best decision is always to award a goal even if the defending team infringe the Laws of the Game.

Answer provided by Referee Peter Grove

Hi Dan,

The law says that a goal is awarded when the ball crosses the goal line inside the frame of the goal and no offence has been committed by the attacking team (with certain exceptions such as the ball entering the net directly from a throw in). However the ball did not enter the goal directly from a throw in here, it came off a defender.

So, as both my colleagues have stated, the goal should stand. As they also point out, the greatest advantage in a football game is a goal and so there should be no question of awarding a penalty in this scenario.