Question Number: 26369

Law 5 - The Referee 5/21/2012

RE: Intermediate Division (9-11) Rec/Semi-Competitive Under 10

John Lawrence of Edmonton, AB CANADA asks...

During our game on Saturday we had an incident where one of our players was tripped, as a result of an accidental kick to the knee by a member of the opposing team who was attempting to gain control of the ball. This resulted in our team member having to leave the field. There was no stoppage of play and the referee claimed that, in his opinion, 'because our player got up within 5 seconds of said injury', the tripping offence was nullified.

I can find no mention of this rule/directive? Should the player have 'stayed down' in order to have play stopped?

Thank-you.

P.S. We are playing according to FIFA standards

Answer provided by Referee Joe McHugh

Hi John
I don't understand this. The player was either fouled or he wasn't. If it was a trip it makes no difference if he stays down or not.
If the player was tripped and there was an advantage to the player or his team by allowing play to continue then play does not need to stop as the referee can play advantage.

Answer provided by Referee Michelle Maloney

It was either a foul or it wasn't. There is no such thing as a five second rule!

While the foul might be trifling, or one to which the ref applied advantage, in this age group, if it was a trip it should be called so the players learn the game.

I would chat with the referee assignor about this and let the assignor visit with the referee. Best chance for positive outcome...

Answer provided by Referee Keith Contarino

You can't find anything about it because it doesn't exist.
Haven't seen this for awhile. It's a variation of an old myth called the nullification rule where if a downed player gets up quickly, he 'nullifies' the foul.

This of course is nonsense.

The referee is to stop play only if he thinks an injury is serious. Unfortunately, to some referees this means the player stays down so for this referee, had your player stayed down, the call likely would have gone your way. This is not only wrong but also teaches players to fake and exaggerate injuries; something we don't need more of. Please resist the temptation to have your players stay down when they are able to get up.

A foul should have been called and play stopped. The referee should have then assessed the player and if the player needed treatment, the referee should have given him permission to leave the field. Permission would also be needed to re-enter.