What is DOGSO in Football? | DOGSO vs SPA Explained

What is DOGSO? And What is the Difference Between DOGSO & SPA?

DOGSO, or a Denial of an Obvious Goal Scoring opportunity, is one of the most controversial and game-changing calls in football.
So, the referee must be prepared to make the right call when presented with a DOGSO situation.

Now, before we get started it’s important to understand that there’s a big difference between a foul that is considered to be Stopping a Promising Attack - this results in a yellow card for the player committing the foul; and a foul that is considered to be a Denial of an Obvious Goalscoring Opportunity, which results in a red card.

Put simply, an SPA offence would be a defender stopping an attack with clear potential, but not one that would result in an obvious goal. Whereas a DOGSO offence would look like a defender stopping a near-certain goal scoring opportunity.

Now, there are four main considerations to take into account when determining if a foul should be called a DOGSO or SPA offence.

- Distance between the offence and the goal
- General direction of play
- Likelihood of keeping or gaining control of the ball
- And location and number of defenders

All four of these considerations must be covered for something to be considered a Denial of an Obvious Goal Scoring opportunity.

The attacking player generally has to be within a relatively close distance to the goal.

They need to be generally heading towards the goal.

They need to be in control of the ball.

And there needs to be few, if any defenders between them and the goal.

Taking these considerations into account should cover everything 99% of the time, however these considerations are slightly nuanced.

For example, if the opposition goalkeeper is in the box for a last-minute corner and the ball is cleared to an attacker just inside their own half who has a clear run at an empty goal and they’re fouled, this would be considered DOGSO even though they are 60 yards away from goal.

That being said, for most standard situations seen in matches, those 4 considerations should have you covered.

But, we’re not done yet, as there are a few more rare DOGSO situations that you need to be aware of.

A red card is shown to the player committing a DOGSO offence in all but this one case:

If a defending player is in their own box and fouls a player in a “DOGSO-manner”, they are shown a yellow card - and not a red - if they were attempting to challenge for or play the ball. But, if they were doing anything else (pulling, pushing, holding, etc.) they are shown a red card like in any other DOGSO situation.

The second, and final rare DOGSO situation that you need to be aware of involves a player that is not even on the pitch!

If a player not currently in the game (this could be a sub, sent-off player, or anyone else) enters the field of play without the referee’s permission and interferes with play by denying an obvious goal scoring opportunity – this is viewed as a DOGSO offence and that player would have to be sent off.

So… to recap.

- It is very important to understand the differences between an SPA and DOGSO offence as one results in a yellow card, while the other results in a red!

Note the four DOGSO considerations:

- Distance between the offence and the goal
- General direction of play
- Likelihood of keeping or gaining control of the ball
- And location and number of defenders

- And remember that a DOGSO offence is ALWAYS a red card, except when a defending player commits a DOGSO offence in their own box when they were attempting to play the ball.

TAGS (ignore): referee, soccer referee, referee signals, referee training, how to referee soccer, referee tips, what are the referee signals, how to referee

[billobrien]

Wait a minute. Near the end of the video the presenter describes an unusual DOGSO situation. A person who enters the field without the referee's permission is not a *player*. Since this person is not a player, who gets sent off?

[jineeshpr]

Thank you sir. Great explanation.
As a ref myself, this is a key rule. I had only one dogso in my 200+ games

[holmj]

Make a yt short about usa vs uruguay referee (probably could make multiple) but do one on the referee giving a yellow card and then allowing the restart to NOT be ceremonial.

[coasttocoastadventureswith]

If someone who wasn't on the field is sent off, is that truly a punishment?