Question Number: 35870

Law 3 - The Players 1/27/2025

RE: Competitve Adult

Brian Murphy of Stafford, VA USA asks...

A team is given a RED Card, but the team does not play a man down, and then scores a PK. Can the Ref take away the goal once he/she realizes the team that got the Red card and just scored did not go down a man?

Answer provided by Referee Joe McHugh

Hi Brian
Thanks for the question

A goal may not be allowed when the scoring team has an extra player on the field of play as part of play. That extra person can be a substitute, a substituted player, a sent off player or a team official.
In your example the goal is disallowed, the extra player removed and the restart is a direct free kick from the location of that extra player at the time of the restart. Determining that exact position of the extra player might prove difficult so a general area of where the player was can be used.

If play is restarted with a kick off then the goal has to stand, the extra player removed and the incident reported to the competition organisers who will determine the outcome of the game. It could determine that the result should stand or order a replay depending on the circumstances.

Good mechanics particularly on a sending off situation should prevent this happening with a referee holding up play until the dismissed player has fully exited the field of play and sorrounds.

As Referee Grove points out it is not intended to sanction situations where there is incidental encroachment such as stepping on to the field at the technical area to get a better view of the kick or a sent off player while going to the dressing room was tardy or stepped over a touchline as part of exiting.

Answer provided by Referee Peter Grove

Hi Brian,
Yes, the goal can and should be disallowed (so long as play has not restarted after the PK). Law 3 states quite unequivocally:

"If after a goal is scored, the referee realises, before play restarts, that an extra person was on the field of play when the goal was scored, and that person interfered with play:

the referee must disallow the goal if the extra person was:

a player, substitute, substituted player, sent-off player or team official of the team that scored the goal: play is restarted with a direct free kick from the position."

The clause, "and that person interfered with play," is used to exempt from this law, incidents such as when the non-playing colleagues of a goal scorer encroach just slightly over the touchline, in anticipation of a goal being scored, and with no effect at all on play.

It is not intended to cover the situation you describe, where a sent off player has remained on the field for an extended period and almost certainly had some kind of effect on proceedings.

Answer provided by Referee Richard Dawson

Hi Brian,
if a red card is shown to a player, one of the 11 participating in the match, that player is sent off and his team "MUST" play a man down. If red card is shown to a substitute or a substituted player, that does not affect the team's status with the number of players allowed on the field.

Law 3 tells us that a team who has transgressed the laws of the game cannot benefit from such, however, the referee must be aware that these laws were transgressed "BEFORE" he restarts after ANY stoppage.

In the case that you just made,
-a team was awarded a penalty kick,
-a player from that team had previously been shown a red card
-that team was either still playing with that player or that player had been replaced illegally
-if play had commenced after a red card incident and been ongoing and that team later benefit from a PK while actually playing with what is in effect TOO MANY men on the field of play their opposition has been unfairly affected.

The basis of taking away a goal on the PK would be the fact that the extra player had been there the entire time up to and including the PK itself. A team that breaks the laws of the game cannot benefit as such if their illegal player is affecting or participating in the outcome of play. My colleagues have already pointed out that incidental or indirect actions are not a factor if they do not affect outcome!

Once the PK is taken and a goal is scored any decision to take away the goal must occur before the kickoff! The referee must be certain the number of players was in fact incorrect and not a result of celebratory processes as opposed to being an extra person on the field of play who actually interfered with play. A red carded player who should have been sent off would be classified as such whether he was the actual goal scorer or not.
Cheers