Question Number: 25364

Law 5 - The Referee 8/29/2011

RE: rec Under 14

Wade Shimoda of Honolulu, HI USA asks...

This question is a follow up to question 25352

Gary and Joe,
Thank you for your reply. I was hoping that would be the answer.

Interestingly, I found this on the web, which defines 'force' as having 'local authority' escort the player off. Hopefully it's something that they've put in writing 'just in case.'

(I've changed the address slightly to make sure it gets through)
ksasoccer dot com/generic/generic11.asp

Wade Shimoda

Answer provided by Referee Joe McHugh

Hi Wade
Force should never be used by anyone involved in the game. Force can only be used by those entitled to use it such as police authorities and security personnel.
I'm not sure what is meant by local authority yet escorting the person off the field does not suggest force to me and it certainly does not apply to players, substitutes, match officials or team officials.

Answer provided by Referee Gary Voshol

Your link is to a zero-tolerance policy of a soccer club in North Carolina. It says nothing about using force to remove someone from the field; rather it says that if someone refuses to leave, the proper local authorities may be called to escort the person away. The local authority might well be the police or sheriff, or it could be a club official. That makes it clear that it is not the referee's responsibility to force anyone off the field.