Question Number: 24329

Law 5 - The Referee 11/15/2010

RE: Clinic-HS Other

Joe of Baltimore, Maryland USA asks...

Law 5 - Mandatory removal of an injured player.

In a youth tournament (U-12) recently, I had two separate instances wherein I allowed a coach to come onto the field (with permission) to see to an injured player. In both cases, the injury was minor and required no medical attention at all.

While Law 5 clearly states that a player must leave the field if a doctor is called onto the field of play; its specific use of 'doctor' in lieu of a more general term for medical attention leads me to interpret that 'doctor' is exactly what is meant; and clearly the coach is not acting as a doctor in this role. Accordingly, I did not interpret the mandatory removal clause of Law 5 to apply to an assessment and pep talk visit by a youth team coach, especially if the player was clearly capable of safely remaining in the game.

To be clear, I am not advocating taking even a small chance with the safety or well-being of a youth player; but so long as that condition is satisfied, do you agree with the distinction I am drawing above?

Answer provided by Referee Joe McHugh

Hi Joe
Once a player is injured and down on the ground the referee has to make a decision about allowing a 'person' on the the field of play to assess the injury. That decision is made by the referee or at the request of the player in response to the question 'Do you need attention'. Once that decision has been made then the player is required to leave the field of play for treatment and he/she can only return after play has recommenced. It makes no difference as to the level of expertise that the person assigned to that duty has in carrying out that task. The person can be a coach who simply comes on with a bottle of water and no expertise. That is not the referee's concern.
What is important though particularly in the case of underage games is that the decision for the player to continue is made by the team officials by the clear request for the player to rejoin the game rather than by the referee not following the clear instruction as set down in Law 5 for the player to leave the FOP and allowing him to continue.

Answer provided by Referee Dennis Wickham

No. If the referee grants permission for the player to receive attention on the field by any team official: coach, trainer, medical staff, the player must leave the field unless one of the exceptions apply (keeper injured; keeper an another; two players from the same team).

The laws use 'doctor' (the description in the laws governing technical area is doctor or physiotherapist) because at the highest levels, the coach/manager does not enter the field to assess an injury. Those folks who run onto the field to assess a player are usually trainers (physical therapists/physiotherapists). In amateur matches, the only trainers/doctors present probably are parents or adult players.

It is common to expect that the laws would be written so that each word can be parsed to derive its exact meaning. The framers, however, approach the writing differently. They remove words that they believe 'everyone knows.' They expect that the referee will apply both the letter of the law and its spirit.

In a U8, a player may fall down and not get up until an adult tells them it's ok. With u-littles, the spirit of the law (to get the match quickly restarted when there is an injury by having the injured player assessed and treated off the field) may be served
better by quickly summoning the coach, getting out of the way (the coach doesn't need to talk to the referee to check the child); have the coach leave quickly, and let the player remain the field unless really injured. IMO, however, above U-10, the process that Ref McHugh describes works best.