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 Foul After Shot on Goal - Listen

We’re on the soccer field today, and the home team has the ball and is on the attack.

The ball makes it around to a forward from the home team, who is on-side and within the penalty area. His shot just misses – going wide for a goal kick.

However, just after the ball crossed the goalline, a player from the away team tackles the home team forward with excessive force.

What’s the call?

Because excessive force was used, it’s a red card for the away team player, which is an automatic ejection. But because it happened after the ball crossed the goalline and not at the time of the shot, it’s still a goal kick for the away team, not a penalty kick for the home team.

Previous 2026-27 editions

Aug. 25: Fumble Out of Bounds - Listen