Officials’ mistake

In the game of December 26th between Dinamo Minsk and Atlant there was a spell during play which demanded special scrutiny from the League’s Refereeing Department – the goal awarded to Dinamo Minsk in the 59th minute.

Statement from the KHL Refereeing Department

In such a situation the referee must give the appropriate gesture to either signal that a goal has been scored, or that there was no goal and so play should continue. The referee signaled for a goal, inferring that the puck had crossed the goal line while it was obscured beneath the goaltender. Since the referee did not clearly witness the puck crossing the line, he referred the incident for video review.

The video goal official, having made the assumption that the puck must have crossed the line while under the body of the goaltender, passed on his verdict to the referee.

Having studied the incident in detail the Refereeing Department draws attention to the fact that the replays did not conclusively prove that the puck had crossed the line and therefore a goal should not have been awarded. In this situation in was not within the referee’s rights to signal that a goal had been scored. The video goal official also made an incorrect decision in claiming a goal had been scored. Therefore, in accordance with the regulations, disciplinary sanctions will be taken against both the referee and the video goal official.