Question Number: 25467

Law 5 - The Referee 9/19/2011

RE: Club Under 13

Douglas K Jones of MURRIETA, CA United States asks...

We had a player get the wind knocked out during a fight for the ball (knee to stomach) she tried to continue but was unable to breathe and per coaches instructions was told to take a knee. The referee ignored the player down until the other team scored. (2 min after player was down) while player was down the ball changed possession but there were no dead balls or out of bound etc... The Referee said he did not stop play because the player was able to leave the field on her own and was told by the coach to take a knee. Of course the coach wanted to replace his down player. He can't replace her without the blessing of the center. If she left the field our team would have played short. (we were short with her down on field anyway) What is if there is one a clear policy or proceedure 'law' to implement when a player is hurt. I have heard play only stops when ball is dead. If this is true please confirm. If it is true our strategy should have been to get the ball out of bounds. Also should the player who can come off just leave the field? If a player does leave the field on their own then my guess is we wait for Referee to signal for Sub? Can referee allow Sub in a non dead ball situation like this?

Answer provided by Referee Gary Voshol

Law 5 says the referee:
'stops the match if, in his opinion, a player is seriously injured and ensures that he is removed from the field of play. An injured player may only return to the field of play after the match has restarted
'allows play to continue until the ball is out of play if a player is, in his opinion, only slightly injured'

Having the wind knocked out of her was evidently not considered to be a serious injury by the referee, and he didn't deem it necessary to stop play. I have a pet peeve about coaches telling players to 'go down, take a knee'. If the player doesn't even think he's hurt until the coach tells him he is, is it really a serious injury?

If a player is capable of getting off the field under her own power, the referee can give her permission to leave. You are correct that the player would not be able to be replaced until a stoppage in play.

If the referee feels the player is seriously injured, she will stop play so the player can be attended to. The player must then leave the field and cannot reenter until after play resumes and the referee beckons her on. Even if after some attention by the coach or trainer it appears that she is able to continue play, the player must temporarily leave the game. It is up to the coach to decide to put in a substitute or to play short while play resumes.

Answer provided by Referee Keith Contarino

Stop having your players take a knee. If they are hurt they should lay down on the field. The referee is only obligated to stop play for a serious injury. If you had to tell her to take a knee, probably not serious. If she was laying down, the referee is liable to stop play more quickly. If you want to make sure play is stopped tell your team to kick the ball out of play.

The referee should have told her to leave the field if he wanted her to get attention. are you supposed to be a mind reader?

Play stops when the ball is dead, that's correct. When is the ball dead? When it crossed over either touch line or goal line or the referee stops play.

Answer provided by Referee Joe McHugh

Hi Douglas
The answer depends on the referee's opinion of serious or slightly injured. If it is serious then play is stopped immediately. If it is 'slightly injured' then play continues until the next stoppage.
The term 'taking a knee' is definitely in the slightly injured category and play should not be stopped. If however a team kicks the ball out of play then that is the next stoppage and the referee should deal with the situation which is that the player is removed from the field of play for treatment and play resumes.