Im unsure whether these latter two contingencies are covered by the rule book.
My opinion is that should the referee scored from the kickoff he would be forcibly removed from the field of play. Another referee would be sought. There is a fourth official (in addition to the referee and his two assistants) and if the remaining sane officials can muster a qualified referee and two assistants then the match would proceed. Otherwise it would be abandoned.
If the wind blows the ball into one of the goals without being touched I suggest that 1) there is a hurricane around or 2) David Seaman has emerged from retirement.
I can’t really conceive of this eventuality.
Maybe Ravenman, being an ex-referee, could shed some light on these matters.
I’m not sure of exact definitions in the rule book, but I’m pretty sure as a practical matter any ‘goals’ scored before a player touched the ball on the kick-off would be considered to have occured before the match actually started, and would not be counted.
Play is not started until the referee signals the beginning of play, and a player advances the ball from a stationary position (I recall that the ball used to have to complete one full revolution before being considered “in play,” but this rule seems to have changed).
Therefore, if the wind pushes the ball, or if a referee just goes and kicks it, or if a dog runs on the field and grabs the ball, the ball would not be in play, and there would be no goal, no more so than if an American football referee picked up the ball, ran into the endzone, and did the Ickey Shuffle.
If the ref deliberately scored a goal in a major game, I imagine the following would occur:
the fourth official would take over from the ref, who would be sent home
the governing body of the league / competition would order a replay of the game.
Slightly different issue, but still linked… during a recent cup match, Arsenal failed to return the ball to the opposition after it had been hit out of play to allow treatment to an Arsenal player.
Arsenal then scored a goal straight from the throw-in, to the general disbelief of those watching.
I don’t think the goal had a major impact on the final score, but had it done so the FA confirmed that it would be able to order a replay - in fact, Arsenal’s coach offered to replay the game.
The same would happen if the ref scored a goal.
(will find cites if needed, but should be out there on google)
When I was working as a psych nurse a whole lot of male nurses vs female nurses sports events were arranged. As a ticketed referee I was elected to control the football. Due to lots of “dubious” decisions the scores were tied with only minutes to go. One of the women passed into the penalty box and all the blokes headed toward the ball. I flicked a little first touch pass to the one unmarked woman in the box and she buried it into the empty net.
Afterwards the guys acted as though I had cheated but the women, correctly, acted as though my presence had had no influence. Just goes to show that even though you play or watch a game it doesn’t mean you know the rules.
OK, so what happens if two players simultaneously kick the ball into the goal? Who is listed as the scorer then? I imagine this must have happened accidentally at least a few times in the history of soccer.
Considering that it is very common for two players to touch the ball near-simulatenously before a ball goes out of bounds (for a throw-in or corner or a goal kick), refs simply use their judgment for who is responsible for the ball going out. Similarly, I would just use my own judgment on who is responsible for a goal in the same circumstances.
A lot of referee disdain and criticism would be alleviated if people could sit in on an referee assessment.
In that, one or more knowledgeable people tear the game apart and go over all the mistakes the official made using what they saw, hindsight, replays and anything else they want.
The players do not count, it is all about the referee and what he did right and wrong.
Moving from a Referee-1 to a State-2 level you will be getting a lot of these and any further advancement will become more and more difficult and after you go far enough it also becomes a bit political unfortunately.
In collegiate games, if you get into that and also in some high school associations, the opinions of the coaches also comes into play.
On the field, the referee is ‘god’ but after the game, everyone gets a shot at his ass.
Remember, FIFA had some procedural rules but the game has only laws. And all the laws that pertain to the actual playing of the game all start with, “If in the opinion of the referee…”
There are down sides to getting to play got for an hour and a half.
Technically there is no requirement to give the ball back, but there is still an expectation that both teams will conduct themselves in the “spirit of the game” (whatever that is!).
You will sometimes see a team keep the ball in such situations, but it’s guarenteed to wind the other team up… witness the Portuguese reaction when Holland didn’t give the ball back in their recent bloodbath.
I believe there is a rule about “unsportsmanlike conduct”, but will see if it’s articulated in the FA rules anywhere.
You mean the Arsenal - Sheffield United FA Cup game a few years ago? The controversial goal was decisive, and afterwards Arsenal placated an outraged United by offering to replay the game. Surprisingly, the FA agreed to the replay, which Arsenal also won.
At the time, some people said that this was setting a dangerous precedent, and perhaps they were right after all, because in the World Cup just finished there were players going down “injured” to get the ball kicked out of play in almost every game, it seemed. Never seen anything like it before. Whether they’re doing it to break the opposition’s rhythm, or just have a breather, I don’t know.
Little off topic, but in hockey a Ref cannot score a goal in any shape or form. If the puck was to deflect off of the ref and go directly into the net, the goal is disalowed and there is a face off in the zone near the net.
Now, if it deflects off the ref, hits another player, and then goes in, it’s a goal.
