Hello, watching the women's Olympics, there have been a few shootouts and, at least twice, the camera was up close with the coin flip for the shootout. Both times that I watched, the referee flipped the coin and it looked the referee allowed one of the captains choose which goal the shootout should take place. Shouldn't it be something like...flip the coin, heads it's that goal. Tails it the other goal. The captains have no input of this. Then after which goal to use is decided, then there is another flip with captain of who won the toss choosing who kicks first. What the referee was saying to the captains during the flips wasn't audible, but this is what it looked like to me. Anyone else?
Choosing a Goal for Penalty Shootout
- Thread starter NOVARef
- Start date
Correct, this is covered in Law 10 which only says a coin toss decides which end. The teams are not given a choice.
Another one that was a recent (ish) law change I think. At one point the referee just decided the end.
I'd be very surprised if a top level FIFA referee made a mistake like that, I suspect it looked a bit strange but they are just telling them which end. After the end is decided they are naturally going to have to turn to one of the captains to ask them to call for the toss that decides if they want to go first or second, so I suspect they are just asking that question rather than asking them which end they want.
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Reminder for all of us who don’t work in stadiums: we still have authority to choose the end of there is a reason. for me, every field I’ve been on in a game that could go to PKs was a field that I was going to dictate the end rather than flip a coin. (Sun, what’s behind a goal, condition of mark, condition of goal mouth…)
One thing I consider as well is if all the spectators have been placed at one end (happened with me when they were all behind one goal in a semi-final last year). You don't want a large number of people to move at the same time as it is a safety hazard.
So I just found the replay and watched it. It also includes the audio. https://www.nbc.com/watch/paris2024/soccer-womens-quarterfinal-3/12000817 Watch from about 2:39.50. The referee flips the coin and gives Germany the choice of which goal to use. Then the referee flips it again. Germany wins the toss and chooses to kick first. The announcer even says..."Germany won both. Chose the end and they chose to go first." I'm pretty sure they did the same thing in the other quarter final that went to penalty shoot out.