Be the Referee: Soccer Disallowed Goal

By Sam Davis
MHSAA Director of Officials

October 21, 2021

Be The Referee is a series of short messages designed to help educate people on the rules of different sports, to help them better understand the art of officiating, and to recruit officials.

Below is this week's segment – Soccer Disallowed Goal - Listen

A soccer team is racing towards the opponent’s goal, and after a couple of nice passes, they find the back of the net for a one-nothing lead.

As soon as the goal celebration starts, the coach of the team that scored excitedly motions for one of his players to come off the field. The assistant referee sees and hears this and counts the number of players on the field – and he realizes that the scoring team had 12 players on the field at the time of the goal. What’s the call?

The referee should disallow the goal because there were too many players on the field, and re-start the game with a goal kick by the team that was scored on. The extra player on the field receives a yellow card, and the score is back to 0-0 … or nil-nil.

Previous editions

Sept 30: Field Goal Falls Short - Listen
Sept. 23: Volleyball Obstruction - Listen
Sept. 16: Catch or No Catch Listen
Sept. 9: Intentional Grounding – Listen 
Sept. 2: Pass Interference – Listen 
Aug. 26: Protocols and Mechanics  Listen

Be the Referee: Feet Rule on Soccer Throw-In

By Paige Winne
MHSAA Marketing & Social Media Coordinator

September 13, 2023

Be The Referee is a series of short messages designed to help educate people on the rules of different sports, to help them better understand the art of officiating, and to recruit officials.

Below is this week's segment – Feet Rule on Soccer Throw-In - Listen

In basketball, when a player is inbounding the ball, his or her feet have to be behind the line when passing the ball. Their feet can’t be touching the line.

But in soccer, a player just has to be on the line to complete a throw-in – even if their heels are both barely touching the line and the majority of their body is in the field of play.

It is considered a legal soccer throw-in if any part of both feet is either touching the line or behind the line, including if the player does a somersault or front-flip style throw-in. As long as they flip and land with both feet on or behind the line and throw the ball – it’s a legal throw-in.

Previous Editions

Sept. 6: Volleyball Jewelry - Listen
Aug. 30: Football Rules Similarities - Listen
Aug. 23: Football Rules Differences - Listen