Ending game poll

I’ve oft said that if you ask three refs for when to end a game, you’ll get four answers . . . I do think there is a lot more nuance than the two options there

But anyone who ends at exactly 0 is being falsely precise unless the R is actually starting the watch when the ball is kicked and clearly moves—which is very much not recommended.

the best way I’ve found to explain to new refs why we don’t time like hockey or basketball is the concept of added time. Even if we aren’t adding a lot of time because of field congestion, there is always at least some time that is reasonable to add, so that a few seconds is appropriate (even beyond the seconds the watch was started before the game started).

the other simp,e reality is tht no one is ever going to complain if a goal is scored a few seconds after the R’s watch hits zero. But they are going to howl like mad if you blow the whistle as the ball is going towards the goal and hits the net after the whistle blows.

When I started, I would overdo the permitting an attack concept. I now will only do that if there really is an immediate attack towards the goal.

 

Outside of HS, with an exact clock countdown, I will generally allow one last attack after my watch is past time. Tournaments that are really tight on turnaround time, I might be quicker on the whistle, especially if it's a 2+ goal lead.

 

Agree 100% on false precision of blowing at time; I've never (so far!) had an issue starting my watch at <kickoff> rather than just prior.

 

If I have a game were a goal is scored in added time, I will let the team that is scored upon have a kickoff and let play go for another 5-10 seconds after the kickoff. I don't want people to think I extended time just for one team to score a goal.

My one bad story about adding team came several years ago. I was adding three minutes to a boys u14 game with the score 4-3 and as my watch hit 3:00, the trailing team intercepted the ball and drove towards the goal. I was waiting until the attack played out to end the game. The leading team fouled the trailing team just outside the penalty area. Looking at my watch, it was now 4 minutes into stoppage. I decided to let the trailing team have the free kick and then end the game. I didn't want to reward the leading team for committing a foul at the end. The trailing team took the free kick and the ball hit the goalkeeper so I immediately ended the game by blowing the whistle. However, after the ball hit the goalkeeper, it deflected off him and into the goal. The trailing coach was not happy because I had ended the game.

 

This very same advice was given to me by a retired FIFA ref in the very first ref training I ever had.

(it was also more important until a few years ago, as it used to be that you could not change a decision after blowing for full time, which meant it was prudent to have the KO to make sure there was time for the R or ARs to realize there was an issue with the goal.)

 

I think this is a great question. Nominally, I fall on the side of letting a few extra seconds go (if the laws governing the match allow), as nobody stops times exactly.

From a coaching perspective, I would suggest any (especially young) referee to check the rules of the competition to ensure that they understand which laws apply. A few years ago, my team was in a tournament. Typical boiler plate "We follow FIFA laws, except where amended". The second or third amendment was that there was to be NO stoppage time, except for the playoffs/final. Our last round robin match, we were up by a goal and my watch beeped for time (as did my assistant), and I saw the ref look at his watch. The other team was attacking and he let play go on for about 20 seconds. They didn't score, and all was well. I saw him after the match as we were both going to the score table. I asked about the time issue and he said that he thought the added stoppage time was warranted as the losing team was on the attack. I told him about the amendment, and he admitted he hadn't seen it. Glad it didn't affect the outcome, but that would have been messy if they did score.

 

Since I can't agree with the "exactly when time hits zero" option, I chose the other.

Most times it won't matter. Whether you give them 20 seconds extra or 20 minutes, it's not going to change the outcome of the match. So why not stop pretty much when your watch hits zero. Just don't be watching for that so intently that you miss something terrible happening on the field.

Someone once said, "By some strange coincidence, time always runs out when the ball is near midfield."

One time you surely don't want to end the game - when the ball has been kicked beyond the goal line halfway to the next time zone. Because that means you'll be fetching that game ball.

 

One game years ago with my older son, in a tie game, the referee blew the whistle right as my son’s leg was swinging back to take a shot on goal. When asked why he chose to not allow the shot, he said they were already past time on his watch. What he didn’t explain was why he would let the attack build up all the way to the point that a shot was just about to be taken.

 

Playing the notes, but not making the music

 

Any good soccer parent is going to learn that pretty quick and run their own watch. Can do the entire game, half, or just the final two minutes.

 

Did a final this past weekend. Watch went to zero for halftime about the same time an attacking team started a mild attack. They played with it for 15-20 seconds and then took a dumb shot that glanced off a defender well wide of the goal. I called half instead of giving the corner. The coach lost his mind. No good deed goes unpunished…

 

I would just add that using a vibrating watch is really great when reffing soccer. And if you use a spintso or smartwatch using a referee app, you get a vibration every 30 seconds of added time, so you can continue to focus on the game, and not your watch.

 

if you own a Garmin, I highly recommend the app from Winder. I believe it costs 5 pounds and is excellent. (I got an Apple Watch and miss the Garmin app.)