Question Number: 25951

Mechanics 2/5/2012

RE: Adult

Steven Baskett of Sydney, NSW Australia asks...

If a referee applies advantage to a foul , then later he when plays stopped he issues a yellow and its the players second yellow can he then show a red ? Or would you advise to just stop it if its his second yellow.

Ive never seen this happen or done it just was wondering ..

Answer provided by Referee Jason Wright

Hi Steven,

Applying advantage after a cautionable offence should be done very sparingly. The ball has a nasty habit of stayin in play for a long time after such an offence, meaning by the time you do caution the player, nobody remembers what it was for! Either that or you run the risk of an incident of some description happening that leaves you reluctant to issue the card, or even the risk of that player committing a 2nd cautionable offence during this period (in this case you would show both yellow cards, and the red).

In short, there are a number of things that can go very wrong here, so I'd only allow play to continue if stopping play would greatly disadvantage the opposition.

For a 2nd cautionable offence, I'd treat it no differently to determining whether to apply advantage from a straight red card. Aside from the above considerations, could you imagine if that player scores a goal, or even stops one, while you're waiting for play to go out? I'm sure you could envision how that would look, having to send him off.

As such, I'd only consider allowing play to continue from a red card offence (including a 2nd cautionable offence) if the opposing team essentially hass an obvious goalscoring opportunity. Anything else just gets too risky.

Answer provided by Referee Joe McHugh

Hi Steven
Under the Laws of the Game the referee is allowed to play advantage and to then go back to caution the player at the next stoppage. If it is his second caution, as you know, it is a dismissal. That is the Law yet we know in practise that referees rarely do that. The reason is that it will be perceived to be harsh to send off a player for an offence that ended up as an advantage with play continuing perhaps for some time.
An example would be a deliberate handling where the player tries to stop the ball with his hand but fails to do so and the referee plays advantage. At the next stoppage is the referee going to send off the player for a 2nd caution. Many time he will probably warn the player. If he was not cautioned there is every possibility that he will be cautioned.
My advice is that when a player is going to be sent off to not play advantage unless it is an immediate goal scoring opportunity. That eliminates many problems that can arise and everyone can relate the sanction to the incident.

Answer provided by Referee Dennis Wickham

It is always advisable to stop play and not allow advantage where the sendoff event is for an act of violence - - the risk of retaliation (or a brawl) while the advantage is played out is too great. But, for things that are just going to be a caution (even a second caution), the referee has to make a judgment. Some players are going to be very dangerous when they know they are going to be sent off at the next stoppage in play; others are not. By observing the players, the referee can decide whether for this player, allowing the advantage is worth the risk.