Question Number: 23616

Law 5 - The Referee 7/5/2010

RE: Under 19

Steven of Sydney, Nsw Australia asks...

I saw a referee give a yellow card to a player for persistent infringements but that player had a twin n the Ref thought it was the same player can the ref rescind the yellow card later after finding out this ??

Answer provided by Referee Joe McHugh

Hi Steven
Yes the referee can rescind any card as long as play has not restarted. He can also write a note on the match report after the match is over stating that he wishes to rescind a card issued in the game and state the reasons.
I might add that cautions are rarely issued for PI and more likely to be unsporting behaviour. Also if a team is targetting a certain opponent with persistent fouling the referee would be entitled to caution the next player that fouls that opponent.
I have officiated in games involving identical twins and I noticed their presence straight away. I would suggest that the twin that was cautioned felt aggrieved due to mistaken identity that he made the referee aware of this at the time?

Answer provided by Referee Dennis Wickham

The referee may not rescind a card after the restart of play. The referee must include the circumstances of the error in the match report.

One method that referees can use to avoid this problem is to silently repeat the numbers when calling each foul: '3 fouled 6', ' 2 fouls 8' etc. Even without twins, it is too easy to confuse players.