Question Number: 23686

League Specific 7/18/2010

RE: competitive Adult

Ronny Ah-Tive of Kalgoorlie, WA Australia asks...

In a recent game, a player was sent off abuse. The punishment is usually a one game suspension. However, the following week, the player was back on the field. When enquiring the reason from the local soccer association, they informed me that the player was not sent off but was rather requested by the referee to leave the field. Can the referee ask a player to leave the fields for either a fould or abuse without giving a red card?

Answer provided by Referee Joe McHugh

Hi Ronny
A referee cannot ask a player to leave the field of play except if he is bleeding or asked to correct his equipment. Neither can the referee make any decisions about who plays or not in a team.
If the player was guilty of offensive, insulting and abusive language or gestures or serious foul play he is dismissed from the field of play and he takes no further part and the team plays short. The matter is then reported in the match report. FIFA has decreed that a player that is dismissed should always be suspended for the next game and it is a matter for the Disciplinary Panel of the League if further game suspensions are required.
In Ireland and the UK a dismissal for these offences would be viewed very seriously and a player could expect to get a 3 games suspension for his behaviour.

Answer provided by Referee Gary Voshol

In U-little recreational leagues, a referee may make a deal with a coach regarding a player who is out of control. 'OK coach, we can do this the hard way or the easy way. The hard way is that I will red card the player, your team will play short, and the player will not be playing the rest of this game nor in the next. The easy way is that you will sub him out and bench him. Either way, he's done for today.' This hopefully gets the message across to the little one that his behavior is unacceptable, but does not take him away from the learning environment of the next game.

But in older youth, competitive leagues or adult leagues, no way. If the player is sent off, he is sent off.

Now if the referee fails to report the send-off, shame on him. But without a report, the league does not officially know about the red card, and therefore there is no basis for a suspension.

Answer provided by Referee Michelle Maloney

How odd! A referee could 'ask' a player to leave the field or ask the coach to sub him out, both of which can be refused, but the only way to MAKE him leave the field is to send him off, which requires the showing of the red card and adding the information to the game report.

Changing one's mind after the card is shown is allowed, but only before the next restart. If the referee had a change of heart later before sending in the report, he can add that to the report, but it DOES NOT negate the card given. It is then up to the association to make a decision as to what to do with that player, based on the referee's report.

Sounds like either the information you received was incorrect or the referee wrote an incorrect report, in which case s/he needs to reported to the referee assignor for re-education.

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

See Question: 23719

See Question: 23751