statement-ending } with if

Can someone explain to me how } on a line on its own can end a statement
(as described in the second section of S04), but the following still
works?

if $condition
{
  ...
}
else
{
  ...
}

i.e. Why doesn't the } on the fourth line terminate the if statement,
leaving the compiler terminally confused when it sees a bare else? Is
this defined as a special case, and if so, could it be mentioned in S04?
Alternatively, is the else a magic separate statement all of its own?

-- 
And for mile after mile you'll never see me tire/You'll never me me slow
down for a while/'Cause I am the fox, like it or not/I'm always gonna be
there  running over the rock/ Yes I am the fox,  a fascinating cross/ Of
sharp as a whip and tough as an ox              Bernie Taupin, 'The Fox'

• statement-ending } with if by Daniel Hulme