Question 1

Wait, shouldn't it be après que le joueur ait marqué using the subjunctive?

Accepted Answer

No, although even native French speakers often make this mistake! Après que (after) requires the indicative mood. This is because the action has already occurred—it is a fact, not a doubt or a possibility. Since the player actually scored, we use the indicative a marqué. In contrast, avant que (before) takes the subjunctive because the action hasn't happened yet.

Question 2

Both verbs are in the passé composé (a sifflé, a marqué). Shouldn't the earlier action be in the plus-que-parfait (avait marqué)?

Accepted Answer

You could absolutely use the plus-que-parfait here to emphasize that the scoring happened further in the past. However, in everyday French, it is very common to use the passé composé for both verbs when the actions happen in quick, immediate succession, like a referee blowing a whistle the moment a goal is scored.

Question 3

Why is it just a sifflé? Don't we need to translate "the whistle"?

Accepted Answer

In a sports context, the verb siffler (to whistle) translates perfectly to "blowing the whistle." You don't need to specify the physical object (le sifflet) unless you are drawing specific attention to the object itself.

Question 4

Can marquer be used on its own like this without saying what was scored?

Accepted Answer

Yes. Just like in English ("the player scored"), you can use marquer without a direct object when the context makes it completely obvious that a goal (un but) or a point (un point) is what was scored.

L'arbitre a sifflé après que le joueur a marqué.

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