Question Number: 25174

Law 5 - The Referee 7/5/2011

RE: Intermediate Under 12

Phil of Tarzana, CA United States asks...

This question is a follow up to question 25117

I was comparing the answers to this question with # 25121. I'd like to be sure I understand the options that the ref has when a cautionable offense is committed during play.

1. You can stop play & issue the caution immediately. Then restart as appropriate with a DFK or INFK, using the whistle.
2. You can play advantage for a few seconds:
A) If it results in a goal by the non offending team, you can still issue a caution before the next KO.
B) If it doesn't result in an almost immediate goal, you can stop play & issue the caution, & restart as appropriate, using the whistle.
C) If the advantage doesn't materialize & you wait too long, you can still issue the caution at the next stoppage of play. However, it would be too late to call any foul & the restart would be for whatever the stoppage called for.

The same options also apply if the offense is a send-off offense, except it would be rarer to allow advantage.

Do I have that right? Thanks.

Answer provided by Referee Joe McHugh

Hi Phil
Reads okay to me with the exception that a goal is not always the requirement for advantage to be realised. USSF has its own advice on advantage inside the penalty area. Also in B the restart is for the original offence

Answer provided by Referee Michelle Maloney

Not all cautionable offenses should cause play to stop. An example that comes to mind is when a team exchanges keepers without informing the referee. In this case, the referee is NOT to stop play, but is to deal with the misconduct at the next stoppage.

If you stop play to caution, the restart depends on whether the offense was a DFK/PK offense or something else like simple dissent, which will be an IDFK offense.

If you apply advantage, you must give the caution before play is allowed to restart, even if you have to call back a restart for the offended team. If the advantage does not materialize quickly, go back to the original offense, issue the caution and restart according to the offense involved (was it a DFK/PK offense and misconduct? Restart is DFK/PK wherever that occurred. If it was impeding or playing in a dangerous manner in an unsporting way, the restart remains an IDFK, from where the incident occurred).

Advantage being realized or not does not always involve the scoring or not scoring of a goal - just to be clear.