Question Number: 22260

Mechanics 10/17/2009

RE: Grade 8 Under 17

Don Orner of Lancaster, PA Lancaster asks...

A defending player had a cut on his leg which was bleeding, the offensive team had advantage and was pulling away from the defender. The defending coach signaled the referee he had a player who was bleeding and the referee immediately stopped play. He then (once the injured player was substituted) dropped the ball to the defending team at the spot where the bleeding player was last on the field who then was instructed to play the ball to the offensive team. Are these actions correct? Thanks for your assistance and have a good day!!

Answer provided by Referee Joe McHugh

Hi Referee Orner
On the face of it this appears a generous decision for the defence however if the player was substituted then it must have been relatively serious.
First of all the referee does not have to stop the game for an injury that he believes is minor and that it can be dealt with at the next stoppage. Stopping the game on a minor injury when the attack has a clear advantage is always doubtful and it will attract howls of displeasure. If a player is shrieking in pain or following a heavy knock that is a different matter. Having said that the referee can stop the game in any situation if he feels it warrants it.
The restart is a dropped ball from where the ball was when play was stopped. The referee states to both teams that he is dropping the ball and the two team can contest the DB. If one team decides to give it back to the team in possession then that is not a matter for the referee. The referee should not do any instructing in these DB situations.

Answer provided by Referee Dennis Wickham

The dropped ball was correct. I'm not sure about anything else.

Play should be stopped by the referee if there is a serious injury. I don't see how a cut on the leg in an BU17 match is 'serious injury' that couldn't wait until the ball next went out of play. It sounds like this was not that serious. But, in true cases of a serous injury (head injuries, unconsciousness, players screaming with a broken leg), the safety of the player takes precedence over an advantageous attack. It's just a game.

The referee has no right on a dropped ball to instruct one player to play it back to the other team. The tradition of 'fair play' to return the ball to the team in possession when play is stopped (or the ball kicked out) because of an injury is not something for the referee to decide. (The referee can ask the players if that is what they intend to do, and ask them to make sure that their teammates and the opponents know that is what they intend to do, so that everyone understands what is happening.) How to play the ball is for the players.

It seems that FIFA has become convinced that the players' ill temper when the other team doesn't do 'what is expected' outweighs the benefits of 'fair play' when they do. We may see more on this in the future. For now, however, the referee must let the players decide whether and how to return the ball.

Answer provided by Referee Gary Voshol

Players that are bleeding are, of course, required to leave the field for treatment until the bleeding can be stopped. However, if the player is mobile, there is no reason to stop play for this. The player can go off under his own power while play continues, after informing the referee.

Answer provided by Referee Richard Dawson

The actions are a product of a referee forgetting the concept of a neutral official and influencing on the tactical decisions of the players as his idea of fair play. While I can not fault why play was stopped as the referee determined the injury was serious enough to do so he can not order who gets to do what at a drop ball restart.
In USA high school *NFHS* they took that fuzzy concept out of there by arbitrarily changing the law and awarding an INDFK to the team with possession.

A referee from the correct spot can drop the ball at his discretion to whom he wishes but he can not PREVENT the opponents from participating if they so wish. He could suggest or ask if they wish to conform to historical standards of fair play but he can not mandate that they do so! ONLY if the player/team states publically at the restart they will act in accordance with returning the ball as their option could the referee consider an action contrary as USB for deceiving an opponent at the restart!

The advantage to the attack could be allowed if it was a minor boot scrape! The player can likely wait for a normal stoppage or be ordered off to be cleaned up by the referee even during ongoing play.

If the cut was serious as in an arterial bleed then immediate medical attention is required to save his life! Stop play drop ball restart is certainly correct! However the restart is from where the ball is when play isstopped, not where the bleeding player was.

Cheers

Answer provided by Referee Keith Contarino

Page 67 under Interpretations in current Laws Of the Game has this to say:

any player bleeding from a wound must leave the field of play.

Advice To Referees has this to say:

5.8 RETURN AFTER BLEEDING OR EQUIPMENT REMEDY
If a player is bleeding or the uniform is blood-soaked, the player must leave the field immediately to
have the bleeding stopped.

Nowhere does it say the referee is to stop play for this. In fact, this happens all the time where the referee sees blood on a player and just tells the player to get off the field immediately and he isn't to return without the referee's permission.

Reviewing the question, I can't find ANYTHING this referee did correctly