Be the Referee: Football Finals Replay

By Sam Davis
MHSAA Director of Officials

November 22, 2022

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 – Football Finals Replay - Listen

There’s a change to the instant replay process for the Football Finals at Ford Field.

All potential scoring and turnover plays will continue to be automatically reviewed. But new this year, coaches will be allowed to challenge one play per regulation, with some restrictions.

First, a team must have a time-out available and call it to initiate a review.

Second, there are a limited number of items that can be reviewed. Those include catch or no catch. Ball carrier in or out of bounds. Forward or backward pass. And a handful of others.

If successful, the coach will be given back the timeout and can make one more challenge in regulation.

In overtime, coaches can challenge once, no matter how many overtime periods are played – and only if they have a time out.

Previous Editions:

Nov. 11: Back Row Illegal Blocker - Listen
Nov. 4: Swim Turn Judges - Listen
Oct. 25: Soccer Referee Jersey Colors - Listen
Oct. 18: Cross Country Tie-Breaker - Listen
Oct. 11: Soccer Shootouts - Listen
Oct. 11: Safety in End ZoneListen
Oct. 4: Football Overtime Penalty - Listen
Sept. 27: Kickoff Goal - Listen
Sept. 20: Soccer Timing - Listen
Sept. 13: Volleyball Replays - Listen
Sept. 6: Switching Sides - Listen
Aug. 30: Play Clock - Listen
Aug. 23: Intentional Grounding Change
- Listen

Be the Referee: Unusual Soccer Goals

By Paige Winne
MHSAA Marketing & Social Media Coordinator

October 28, 2025

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 – Unusual Soccer Goals - Listen

We’re talking some unusual ways to score soccer goals today.

It doesn’t happen often, but a team can score directly from a corner kick or the kickoff.

But what if it’s a goalie, down in their own end, who somehow throws the ball 80 yards or so  and into the back of the other team’s net. Does that count?

It does not. A keeper cannot score for his own team by throwing the ball the length of the field and into his opponent’s goal.

If this were to happen, the defending team would receive a goal kick.

But if the keeper accidentally throws the ball into his own net, then it does count as a goal for the opponent.

You don’t always need your feet to score a goal in soccer.

Previous 2025-26 editions

Oct. 21: Field Hockey Penalty Stroke - Listen
Oct. 14: Tennis Double Hit - Listen
Oct. 7: Safety in Football - Listen
Sept. 30: Field Hockey Substitution - Listen
Sept 23: Multiple Contacts in Volleyball - Listen
Sept. 16: Soccer Penalty Kick - Listen
Sept. 9: Forward Fumble - Listen
Sept. 2: Field Hockey Basics - Listen
Aug. 26: Golf Ball Bounces Out - Listen