Question Number: 25543

Law 5 - The Referee 10/3/2011

RE: Competitive Girls Under 12

Diane of Lakewood, CO United States asks...

Regarding player injury and when to stop play.

I coached a game this weekend where my defender went down with a minor injury. These are 11 year old girls so the concept of faking it is not an issue, and from mine and the referee's perspective my defender was not wrenching in pain. I have parents that think differently however that is somewhat besides the point.

After my defender was down possession was taken by the opposition and they were making a offensive run to goal. The initial shot was deflected by my keeper however it was loose and was bounced around the box with a flurry of offensive and defensive attempts which then resulted in a goal.

I beleived the call was good, the goal should stand and that is how the rule reads, however I was asked that when the flurry started that should in fact been deemed the end of the offensive advantage/push and that the ref should have stopped play.

Can you elloborate on the guidence given to ref's of youth soccer regarding this issue.

Answer provided by Referee Joe McHugh

Hi Diane
Once the referee deems that the injury is not serious the referee can and should allow play to continue to the next stoppage. The Laws state ''that play is allowed to continue until the ball is out of play if a player is, in the opinion of the referee, only slightly injured.''
In this case once play continued the referee was correct to allow play continue and then deal with the player after the goal is scored which is the next stoppage.

Answer provided by Referee Keith Contarino

This is an issue that comes up frequently. The book answer is the referee stops play only when an injury is serious. Once the injury is deemed not serious, as in your case, the referee should allow play to continue until a natural stoppage in play.

That's the book answer. These are 11 year old kids. In my opinion, and many disagree, at this level of play, a child goes down, I'm stopping play. Since player safety is my number one concern, I'm over reacting if need be and make no apologies for it. Better safe than sorry.