The Dubious Goals Committee is a committee within the Premier League, the top level of association football in England, which adjudicates in any instance where the identity of the scorer of a goal is disputed.
Contents
The Committee meets on an ad hoc basis, whenever a disputed goal is brought to its attention. This is generally around three or four times each season.
A Dubious Goals Committee also exists for the Football League.
Committee
The Committee is made up of three former football players or football officials. The identity of the Committee members at any given time is kept secret in order to protect Committee members from undue influence to make any particular decision.
Role of the Committee
The role of the Committee is solely to determine the identity of the goal scorer to be entered into the separate official records of that player, his club, and the league. It will therefore be noted that the Committee does not enquire into:
Adjudication process
The adjudication process comprises the viewing of video evidence followed by discussion by the Committee members. The guiding principle when adjudicating is as follows:
"As a rule, if the initial attempt is goalbound it is credited to the player making the goal attempt. However if the deflection means that a wayward effort results in a goal then it is attributed to the player who had the last definitive touch of the ball."