Question Number: 24807

Law 5 - The Referee 4/12/2011

RE: Competive Under 17

Pat Dempsey of Dublin, Dublin Ireland asks...

A question that I hope you can answer for me "
Referee books a player for a late challenge " and the injured player needs treatment, where it is subsequently found his ankle is broken. Game is stopped until the injured player is removed by ambulance to hospital ( a considerable amount of time lapses while this is all taking place).
The referee them decides that the tackle was so bad that it really merited a Red card " and duly shows the offending player a straight Red card before the game re-starts.
Is he correct in doing so " or should the initial Yellow card stand as the punishment.
This actually happened at the week-end.

Answer provided by Referee Joe McHugh

Hi Pat
As play has not restarted the referee is entitled to change his decision. Personally if the 1st reaction was a caution then that should be the decision unless the referee was given further information by a neutral assistant. After a considerable amount of time with all sorts of 'inputs' the referee can question his initial judgement which can be unhelpful.
Something similar happened recently in a game that I was officiating on and my 1st reaction was a caution, which I issued. The fouled player while not suffering any serious injury did not continue. During the injury stoppage players were commenting that the caution was 'light' etc. I did question my original decision at the time and afterwards when I had time to reflect but I felt I was correct. Perhaps looking at a nasty break would have swayed me to say that I got it wrong and that the opponent should have been dismissed for SFP. Sometimes breaks just happen by accident through no fault or malice by a player.
I also witnessed a tackle recently in a game and both player got up with no immediate problems or foul called although I thought both were overly physical in the challenge. No great shout for a foul by either team. Less than two minute later one of the players sought treatment and he had a large nasty bruise on his shin which concerned me that I had missed such contact. Perhaps his opponent had similar bruising, I don't know. I then questioned how I had missed the contact that caused the bruising yet so did all of the players. It did lead me to question my judgement.

Answer provided by Referee Dennis Wickham

The laws permit a referee to change a decision so long as play has not been restarted. The referee has no power to take back a card or change its color after the restart of play.

Whether it is wise to do so is a more difficult question. The referee should strive to make the correct call, and not be afraid to change a decision when additional information is available or processed. When a referee senses that a major mistake has been made (such as the failure to sendoff a player for violent conduct/serious foul play because the referee didn't have a good look at the contact), it sometimes is wise to consult with the assistant referee.

But, a referee can lose control of the game if the players believe that the referee is weak or that the decision was changed because of dissent from the opponents. It is far better to make eye contact with the assistant referee for confirmation BEFORE showing the card.

Answer provided by Referee Keith Contarino

Yes the card may be changed as play has not restarted. Almost always when this amount of time has passed, it's a bad idea to do so. The players on both teams are going to think the referee changed his mind because of their dissent. Probably the only way he can sell it is if he makes a big show of an animated conversation with his AR. Even then it's a hard sell.

Severity of injury is not always an indicator of the severity of the foul. I have seen ankles broken and no foul. I've seen ankles broken from a reckless challenge and I've seen them broken from excessive force. I've also sent players off and no contact was made.