Question Number: 26380

Law 5 - The Referee 5/23/2012

RE: rec/select Under 17

Tom Sky of Lexington, MA USA asks...

Can referees know who has received yellow or red cards for that season? I don't see this on the rosters. I think this would be helpful in anticipating what might happen and in being prepared. Especially when reffing 16 year olds and up. Thank you.

Answer provided by Referee Joe McHugh

Hi Tom
I don't believe at underage or at lower levels of the game it is a good idea to know what sanctions a player has received. I start every game with a clean slate and judge the players on their behaviour during that game.
If a player's action deserves a caution or a dismissal so be it. Over a season I get to know players and know what to look out for.
At the higher levels referees may take into account what players are already on a sanction and perhaps adopt a more lenient / sterner approach based on cautions or previous record.
I noticed in the CL semi final Raul Meireles of Chelsea went into the game on a caution and a 2nd caution would result in him missing the final. He got to the 89th minute and then he committed a foul. He pleaded with the ref not to caution him but to no avail.

Answer provided by Referee Jason Wright

Tom,

Some associations may make this information publicly available, but I don't believe it would be beneficial to referees to know who's been getting booked.

For me, this is getting too specific, and referees looking into this information may run the risk of unintentionally prejudging players.

Judge each incident on its own merits, and don't worry about what's happened in the past.

Each 90 minutes is a completely new game, after all.

Answer provided by Referee Dennis Wickham

The internet can be a wonderful tool for referees if league keep statistics on their website.

A quick check before your match reveals who is the play maker (assists); the scorer (goals) and the enforcer (yellow cards). In the absence of the internet, sometimes the best source of information to to ask during the pregame - - have you done these teams before?