In the thread entitled situational awareness this point was raised but kinda got overwhelmed by the complications of the thread. I wanted to seperate it from the main stream. If a referee's attention is diverted be it a look over the shoulder to check out behind the play or a referee trips and while you are picking yourself up the ball winds up inside the netting with one side jubuliant the orther not. You did not see it actually cross into the goal. You missed that part by picking grass from your teeth ot giving the evil eye to those players in behind the play not to try anything funny. Now the defenders are claiming a handball or an offside. The attackers are expecting a kick off. No foul has occurred that you have seen. With club linesmen or as a single referee do you say YES goal I never saw an infringement or NO goal I can not be certain there was no infringement?
If the ball is in the back of the net, there either has to be a foul or goal. You did check the net for holes, correct? If you didn't see, hear, or smell a foul, then it's got to be a goal! The last time this happened to me, I ended up with a fight later in the game; it somehow started the players thinking they could get away with stuff. The defenders claimed a handball by the scorer, and all I could see was his backside and the ball going in the net. A less than memorable evening.
Reffing solo just sucks. Even reffing with a full crew still sucks most of the time 8) You can't win in that situation, but I guess it goes to show that if there is something important enough for you to stop watching the action then it is important enough to blow the whistle (unless you have assistants helping). Very few bystanders, players, or coaches actually know what really happens anyway. If the ball is in the net and you didn't witness a violation occur (no matter what the reason) then you have to give a goal. Even if you suspect one.