The ref is an integral part of the game of football, but they should never interfere with the game itself.
It is their job to control the game, try and keep it flowing, and ensure that both teams play by the rules, as well as to make difficult decisions sometimes that could have a big impact on the eventual result – but they are not part of the gameplay itself.
Well, that’s the idea anyway.
It’s inevitable though, that when running around in the middle of two teams of 11 players who are both trying to outsmart and outplay each other – sometimes with electric pace and unexpected manoeuvres – the ref is going to get in the way now and again.
Referees are actually pretty good at positioning themselves so that this doesn’t happen often, and even if they do end up in the path of a moving football they can often jump out of the way without changing its’ trajectory.
But not always.
Those times when a ref hasn’t managed to get out of the way is what this article is all about, and sometimes their involvement has been way more than an unfortunate deflection.
Goals Scored by Referees in Football
The heading of this section gives away the answer to the titular question – it’s yes, incredibly there have been a number of instances where a referee has actually managed to get on the scoresheet.
It hasn’t happened often, and not in any major Western league or competition, but there are at least 4 different instances on record of the ref adding one to the scoreboard.
One of them even did it on purpose!
Thanks to a rule change in 2019, however, it is unlikely to happen again, as the new rules state that play must stop if the ball hits a match official. Before this point, the ref was essentially classed as no different from the crossbar, so if the ball hit him and went in, the goal stood.
With that in mind, the following refs are likely the only ones who will ever have an official career goal next to their name.
Brian Savill – Earls Colne vs Wimpole 2000 – 2001
He became something of a legend in local sporting circles, having been a referee for 18 years and also a volunteer scorer at his cricket club, but Brian Savill gained wider renown when he volleyed one into the back of the net during a Great Bromley Cup game.
It was 18-1 to Earls Colne so it’s safe to say that Wimpole 2000 probably weren’t going to pull it back for a draw, but when Brian found the ball coming towards him on the edge of the 6 yard box at Earls Colne’s end, he decided to lend Wimpole 2000 a hand.
He said:
“The ball sliced off the top of a guy’s head and came towards me. I brought it down and as it bounced off the ground I just volleyed it in left-footed, as sweet as a nut and it went between the goalkeeper and the post. I’m normally right-footed.”
Savill even celebrated the goal, running up the field roaring and waving his hands about, much to the amusement of everyone on the pitch and in the crowd.
Everyone saw the funny side. Everyone that is, except the local Football Association.
Brian was expecting a bit of a telling off, and given the scoreline thought they would laugh it off. Instead, they suspended him for 7 weeks, and he promptly retired in protest.
To be fair, the association had a point, because although the game finished 20-2 to Earls Colne, the team missed out on promotion at the end of the season because of… wait for it… goal difference.
That goal Brian scored actually did have a pretty big impact on the team’s fortunes that season after all.
Maurice Paarhuis – Harkemase Boys vs HSV Hoek – 2019
In the fourth tier of Dutch football, the goal that changed the rules would be scored, and although it has gone down as accidental, it’s questionable.
Harkemase Boys were leading 3-1 but HSV Hoek were on the attack, forcing the keeper off his line to block a weak shot that ricocheted underneath him.
As the ball trundled towards the goal mouth a bit of a scramble ensued with the ball ultimately being cleared off the line but only making it as far as another HSV player on the left side, who had another go at goal with a much stronger effort.
The ball was blocked and rebounded towards referee, Maurice Paarhuis, who had been legging it to the goal line to get a proper look at that first clearance.
He sort of ran into the ball, and seemingly kicked it on impulse, sending the ball back over the line, or just about. It was again cleared by a defender, but it had just crossed the line beforehand.
Incredibly, without pausing for thought, Paarhuis allowed the goal and jogged back to the middle of the field ready to carry on, with a line of the Harkemase Boys… boys chasing after him, incredulous.
The match finished 4-2 so there was no real damage done, and Paarhuis actually made the right call according to the rules at the time.
Ahmet Akçay – Besiktas vs Ankaragucu – 1986
Arguably the most ‘serious’ goal on the list, this one was scored by a referee in a top flight football match.
It was also pretty serious because the goal very much did have an impact on the outcome of the game – which ended 1-0.
Yep, Ahmet’s goal was the only one scored in the game. He must have needed a security team as he left the stadium thar day.
It was a Süper Lig fixture, the highest league in Turkish football, and one of the Ankaragucu players had a punt at goal during some scrappy play after a corner, with Ahmet positioned ahead of him since he had been coming forward for a better view after the set piece.
The ball struck the referee on the head, briefly knocking him to the floor, and then deflected past the keeper and into the goal.
The goal stood, winning Ankaragucu the match and costing Besiktas the match and, crucially, 3 points.
Why crucially? Because that year Besiktas came second in the league, losing out to Galatasaray by a single point, but they were ahead on goal difference.
If Ahmet Akçay hadn’t scored, and the match had ended 0-0, Besiktas would have won the league in 1986.
José de Assis Aragão – Santos vs Palmeiras – 1983
The oldest example on the list (which is why the video footage is so poor), and another one that definitely had an impact on the result of the game, came from Brazilian ref José de Assis Aragão, who did much more than just ‘Assis’ when he scored against Santos in the second minute of extra time.
The result was seconds away from being 2-1 to Santos, so Jose’s effort levelled the score and denied Santos the win.
It had all come from a corner which has been partially cleared, but picked up by a Palmeiras player on the edge of the box, who had then wellied the ball towards goal.
It got through the tangle of players who had just been in a bit of a skirmish but seemed to hit the leg of Aragao who had been positioned at the back post, and then bounce over the keeper who was diving towards where the ball should have gone.
Santos came 2nd in the league that year, although this particular goal wouldn’t have impacted that result. They actually finished one point ahead of the eventual winners, Flamengo, thanks to the mental way in which the league used to work over there.
Shots Blocked by Referees in Football
At the other end of the spectrum, are chances that could have become goals but were denied by an unfortunately placed match official.
Yes, this has happened too on a number of occasions, and while it would cause the game to stop following the introduction of the new rules, before 2019, play would continue and the interference would go down as bad luck.
There are many instances of the ball hitting a referee, not all of them goal scoring opportunities, and some of them are downright hilarious, but probably didn’t feel that way at the time.
Here are a few.
Oscar Macias Romo – Cruz Azul vs Toluca – 2021
This fixture was part of the Liga MX in 2021, Mexico’s top flight, so it was an important game, although this particular incident didn’t have any ramifications further down the line.
Cruz Azul – who ultimately went on to win the league that year – were already 2-0 up when a shot that had hit the post rebounded back onto the field to be collected by Jonathan Rodriguez who made a second attempt on goal.
However, Oscar Macias Romo was crossing the box as Rodriguez hit the ball, so even though the keeper was nowhere to be seen and he only had one defender on the goal line to beat, the ball never made it that far.
Instead, it hit the ref as he cut across and ricocheted out of play.
The match ended 3-2 so Cruz Azul still took the points, but it was a dramatic moment nonetheless, and what makes it even worse, is that the initial shot that hit the post was struck at an open goal, so Cruz Azul had two golden scoring opportunities that didn’t come to fruition that night.
Gianluca Rocchi – Real Madrid v Paris St Germaine – 2018
Neymar was the most expensive player in the world back in 2018, and as he negotiated the left wing in a Champions League Round of 16 clash with Real Madrid, he was twisting and turning to try and break the defence.
The new PSG signing managed to find enough space to attempt a crossing opportunity that could well have turned into a goal… if it wasn’t for the referee who almost got knocked out.
The Italian official, a 44 year old named Gianluca Rocchi, was standing just 8 yards in front of Neymar, and his head just happened to be at the exact height of the ball as Neymar attempted to sweep it towards goal.
Rocchi took a very powerfully hit ball to the face, the chance was ruined, and so was Rocchi’s evening we should imagine.
It was 1-1 at the time and midway through the second half, so the stakes were high, but the game had to be stopped so the poor old ref could get treatment and be checked over for any injury.
Thankfully, he was back on the pitch 20 minutes later and able to continue officiating, but PSG lost 3-1, and the manager claimed the ref was favouring Real Madrid.
Well, if you are going to kick him in the face with a football you can probably expect a bit of bias in revenge.
Strebre Delovski – Melbourne Victory v Central Coast Mariners – 2009
This one wasn’t such a big deal as the others mentioned so far, because although Melbourne Victory were 1-0 down, it was only around 15 minutes into the game so they still had plenty of time to come back.
It may have been early days, but notoriously ‘passionate’ Melbourne defender and team captain Kevin Muscat was already at boiling point, and was trying to referee the game himself after a fight for the ball resulted in a free kick.
He took it, early, while the ref was still finishing up talking to the other players, and kicked the ball right at the referee who luckily managed to turn so that his arm took the worst of it.
It wasn’t really a scoring opportunity since the free kick was given about a third of the way into the Mariners’ half, but the commentators enjoyed it so much that it’s a funny one to watch back.
They start cracking jokes like “I thought I was watching It’s a Knockout there for a moment”, and are freely laughing to each other.
Muscat wasn’t laughing though. The home team lost 4-0 in the end.