Question Number: 21746

Law 8 - Start and Restart of Play 8/5/2009

RE: Under 16

Dave of Des Moines, IA US asks...

This question is a follow up to question 21733

This is where I find some confussion.
We all know the general rule that you can't go back to make a call after a restart.
But aren't there some exceptions?
Zidane for example. Or if a kid does a quick free kick before you can change your call.
Could you explain the exceptions to the rule?

Answer provided by Referee Michelle Maloney

The problem most folks have here is when does the change in the call occur? It occurs when the mind of the referee goes 'oops!' or when the referee gets necessary information from an AR or 4th that would change matters. If that 'oops' in the mind occurs before the restart, whether or not the referee has had the extra second or two necessary to articulate the change before the kicker kicks the ball, then the restart has NOT officially taken place, because the referee has changed her mind.

Making the decision that a call was incorrect and announcing the call is incorrect often occur seconds apart. It is the time of making the decision that matters, not the time of the announcement, although hopefully they are nigh on simultaneous and prior to any restart.

If not, simply announce it was incorrect and bring it back and restart correctly, making sure to allow enough time before you whistle to start play so that both teams have realigned themselves.

It is a major management mistake to allow one team to restart quickly when a correction due to an error of the ref is made. That isn't at all fair, and since it was the ref's boo-boo, the ref needs to make it a fair restart.

Answer provided by Referee Keith Contarino

What happened in the Zindane incident was the fourth official saw the head butt so even though the referee had allowed play to restart, he had information from one of his team to go by so the restart of play shouldn't have been allowed and it was proper to punish Zindane

Answer provided by Referee Gary Voshol

The Zidane example involved a send-off offense. If the ref is informed by an AR or 4th official that a player should have been sent off, the send-off can be done even after a restart. One wouldn't want to do this very often, of course.

Answer provided by Referee Dennis Wickham

In case of violent conduct, not seen by the referee, the correct mechanic is for the assistant referee to raise the flag and keep it up even though the ball has gone in and out of play. When the referee stops play, the referee is permitted to act on the information and send off the player. The restart, however, is not based on the violent conduct but on the reason play was stopped naturally (or a dropped ball if the referee stopped play because of the flag).

In the case of a player taking a quick free kick, it is the referee that decides whether or not to deny a player the right to a quick kick (converting the kick to a ceremonial one requiring a whistle.) So, if the referee decided to hold up play, she retains the right to prevent the restart by a quick free kick, and thus retains the power to change a decision.

The key, however, is when the referee has all the information and allows play to restart, the referee no longer can change a decision. (The mistake must be included in the referee report.) These 'exceptions' are really circumstances in which the referee did not have all the information or didn't allow play to restart.

The following questions were asked as a follow up to the above question...

See Question: 22947