Soccer Disallowed Goal Rule

Other than discovering that the ball had not fully crossed the goal line after VAR review, there are a few other instances where a goal would be removed from the score. Read on to learn about why a goal may be disallowed by a referee in soccer.

Reasons For Goals To Be Disallowed

There are three instances in which a goal may be disallowed by a referee. The first two instances relate to the amount of players on the field. If the referee realizes that there was an extra person on the pitch when a goal was scored, the goal may be disallowed if:

• The extra person was an outside agent who interfered with play.
• The extra person was a player, substitute, substituted player, or team official associated with the team who scored the goal.

The third instance in which a goal may be disallowed is when an attacking player remains stationary within the goal posts and inside the net as the ball enters the goal. Normally, a goal is awarded in this instance. However, if the attacking player distracts an opponent, the goal must be disallowed.

Disallowed Goal Result

While there is no referee signal for a disallowed goal, the referee will typically blow their whistle after making the call and signal for an indirect free kick. The goal will be removed from the game score, and the team who was thought to have been scored on will receive an indirect free kick to restart play.