Question Number: 22930

Law 10 - Method of Scoring 3/11/2010

RE: Competive College

Mabin of Dubai, UAE asks...

if the ball touches the net and at that same second the reffree flows the whisle........ is it a goal...??????

Answer provided by Referee Gary Voshol

If the ball is completely across the line, between the goalposts and under the crossbar, before the whistle blows, the goal counts.

One would wonder why a referee would end the game at that precise second.

Now if you're not talking about the end of the half/game, there could be a variety of reasons why the ref would whistle and take away the goal. My colleagues have mentioned a few. Law 10 says, "A goal is scored 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." If there was an infraction the referee might not have had enough time to blow the whistle before the ball was in the goal.

Answer provided by Referee Michelle Maloney

Nets are not required. Law 10 tells a goal is scored only when all of the ball has crossed the back of the goal line under the crossbar and between the goal posts.

If the ball crossed the goal line before the whistle, it is a goal. If not, it is not. Touching the net doesn't give us the needed information to determine whether or not a goal has been scored.

Answer provided by Referee Gene Nagy

Mabin, it depends which side of the net the ball touched. If it is the OUTSIDE of the net then the whistle went for a goal kick. Now if the ball was over the goal line and the ref blew the whistle because of that, naturally it is a goal. But you have to be careful here. It is entirely possible that the whistle went for an offside call and late as it may be it is still an offside. In fact there have been whistles for a goals only to be called back because the ref did not see the offside flag.

Mabin, I am not sure if you know this but the ref can change his mind as long as it is BEFORE a restart or the end of the game. So the ball touching the net is not a specific criteria the refs use for deciding a goal.

Answer provided by Referee Joe McHugh

Hi Mabin
If the referee stops play with the whistle then a goal cannot be scored. So if the referee blows the whistle to stop play before the ball crosses over the goal line between the goalposts and under the crossbar then a goal cannot be awarded.
The referee is the sole judge of whether a goal has been scored or not.
Now timing of a game is not an exact science and I find it difficult to understand why a referee would stop play just before the ball enters the goal except there was some infringement by the attacking team.