Question Number: 22821

Law 12 - Fouls and Misconduct 2/13/2010

Tim Mann of Akron, OH USA asks...

This question is a follow up to question 22806

This is not a question but a clarification on this question. I was intrigued by this and asked a colleague on another forum who referees in Florida about this. Here are his exact words...

'Florida High School Athletics Association uses the 'blue card' for an intentional handball within the penalty aria. It serves the same function as a red card with the exception that the player does not sit out an additional game for the offense. Not only that but our high school rules state that a player who gets a second caution within the same match is not shown the red card but instead a yellow card and two fingers. (Stupid I know!)'

Hopefully that helps explain what happened here. You gotta love high school soccer.

Answer provided by Referee Keith Contarino

Well, the blue card is not used per NFHS rules. Yes, they have a soft red but the blue isn't to be used as far as I know. Also, why is deliberately handling the ball now an intentional handball?

Thanks for looking into this for us.

Answer provided by Referee Joe McHugh

Hi Referee Mann
Thanks for looking into this which is helpful.
Clearly that has not been well communicated within the Florida High School Athletics Association area and when local bodies make up their own rules that can cause untold confusion. Indeed all of the panel with NHFS rules experience were not aware of it
K.I.S. springs to mind. Yellow Card caution, Red Card dismissal.
Let the administrators then sort out the suspension if a player is dismissed for a denying an obvious goal.

Answer provided by Referee Dennis Wickham

Thanks, Tim.

We recently confirmed the same information from a Florida referee.

Each state is permitted to modify NFHS rules that it feels are appropriate to local needs. This diversity adds to the challenge of answering questions about high school incidents.