Question Number: 25806

Law 5 - The Referee 12/3/2011

RE: Amateur Adult

Gregor Dick of Aberdeen, Scotland asks...

If the goalkeeper gets obviously injured during the course of play and is lying unable to participate in ongoing play , but it is not a free kick, what action should the referee take?

Answer provided by Referee Joe McHugh

Hi Gregor
If this comes to the referees attention the 'best' decision is to stop play and get medical attention for the goalkeeper . Play is restarted with a dropped ball from where the ball was when play was stopped.
There will be occasions when an 'injury' happens and play continues for a short while until it comes to the referee's attention. There is little the referee can do in these situations and the outcome of play has to be accepted.

Answer provided by Referee Dennis Wickham

If a goalkeeper is seriously injured, the referee should stop play (restarting with a dropped ball). Many injuries are not serious and require nothing from the referee.
The younger and less skilled the players, the quicker the referee should stop play.

Answer provided by Referee Keith Contarino

A keeper lying on the ground unable to play is almost certainly 'seriously injured' and the game should be stopped

Answer provided by Referee Michelle Maloney

If it is an obvious injury, and one that prevents the keeper from performing his/her duties, then that is indeed a serious injury, and the referee should stop play immediately upon discovering same. The restart will be a dropped ball wherever the ball was when play was stopped, unless the play had already been stopped by the referee or if the ball had gone out of play, in which case the restart follows the reason play was stopped.

The younger the players, the quicker we should stop play. The older, or more skilled the players, the referee can hesitate briefly to consider if this is in fact a serious injury that requires intervention.

The following questions were asked as a follow up to the above question...

See Question: 25821