A goal needs the whole ball over the whole line.

How the referee checks it

1. Confirm the ball was in play when the shot, touch, deflection, or header happened.
2. Check whether the whole ball completely crossed the goal line between the goalposts and under the crossbar.
3. Check whether the attacking team committed an offence before the ball crossed the line, such as offside, handball, a foul, or an illegal restart.
4. Check whether the referee had already stopped play before the ball entered the goal.
5. If the goal is valid, restart with a kick-off by the team that conceded. If not, use the restart required by the reason the goal was disallowed.

What counts as a goal

A goal is scored when the whole of the ball passes over the goal line, between the goalposts and under the crossbar, provided the team scoring has not committed an offence. The goal line itself is part of the field, so a ball touching or overhanging the line has not yet scored.

Mostly over the line is not enough

The test is the entire ball and the entire width of the line. If even a thin slice of the ball is still above the goal line, the ball remains in play and no goal can be awarded. The same rule applies whether the ball is rolling on the ground, bouncing, spinning, or crossing the line in the air.

Posts and crossbar keep the ball live

A shot that hits the post or crossbar and stays on the field is still live. Players can score from the rebound, clear the ball, or commit a new offence after the rebound. The ball becomes out of play only when it completely crosses a boundary line, the referee stops play, or a specific match-official contact rule applies.

A legal finish can still be cancelled

Crossing the line is not the only question. A goal does not count if the scoring team committed an offence before the goal. Common examples include an offside offence, attacking handball, a foul in the build-up, a second touch from a restart, or a direct goal from a restart where the law does not allow one.

A goal cannot be scored after play stops

If the referee stops play before the ball crosses the line, the later finish cannot count, even if the ball was already heading into the net. The restart follows the reason for the stoppage, such as a penalty kick, free kick, dropped ball, or another restart. If a referee mistakenly signals a goal before the whole ball has crossed the line, play restarts with a dropped ball.

A keeper cannot score by throwing it directly

If a goalkeeper throws the ball directly into the opponents' goal, the goal is not awarded. The restart is a goal kick to the opponents. This is different from a goalkeeper kicking the ball in open play or from a legal restart where a direct goal is allowed against the opponents.

Goal-line technology answers only one question

Goal-line technology, where used, is designed to decide whether the ball completely crossed the goal line. It does not decide offside, fouls, handball, or whether a restart was legal. Competitions that do not use goal-line technology rely on the referee team, and competitions using VAR may check goal/no-goal incidents within the VAR protocol.

VAR can review goal and no-goal incidents

In matches using VAR, goal/no-goal decisions are reviewable. VAR can check whether the ball crossed the line, whether the ball was out of play before the goal, and whether the attacking team committed a reviewable offence in the attacking phase. In matches without VAR, the on-field officials make the decision from their view and teamwork.

Someone extra on the field can affect the goal

If an extra person is on the field when a goal is scored, the referee deals with it before the restart if it is discovered in time. A goal is disallowed if an extra person connected to the scoring team interfered with play. A goal is normally allowed if the extra person was connected to the team that conceded, or if an outside agent did not interfere with play. Once play has restarted, the goal cannot be disallowed only because the referee later notices that extra person.

The restart explains the decision

If the goal counts, the team that conceded restarts with a kick-off. If the ball crosses the goal line outside the goal without a goal being scored, the restart is usually a goal kick or corner kick depending on who last touched it. If an offence happened first, the restart comes from that offence instead of from the ball crossing the line.

Misunderstandings to avoid

• "Most of the ball crossed" is not enough. The whole ball must be over the whole line.
• "The keeper carried it over" still uses the same test. It is a goal only if the whole ball crossed the line between the posts and under the crossbar before play was stopped.
• "The net moved" does not decide the goal. The line, posts, crossbar, and whole-ball position decide it.
• "The referee pointed to the centre circle, so it must count" is too simple. A goal can still be checked before the restart in competitions using VAR, and the referee can correct an error before play restarts.
• "A shot off the post is dead" is wrong. The ball stays live if it rebounds from the frame and remains on the field.

Source material

• IFAB Law 10 - Determining the Outcome of a Match
• IFAB Law 9 - The Ball in and out of Play
• IFAB Law 3 - The Players
• IFAB VAR Protocol