Question Number: 27379

Law 8 - Start and Restart of Play 4/30/2013

Francis of Torrance, CA USA asks...

Question on the use of a whistle after an injury. This has been discussed several times and I always get different answers. Some say restart of play is when the ball hits the ground so no need of a whistle. But others say the LOTG specifically call a whistle out

FIFA LOTG --- The whistle is needed to:
Restart play after it has been stopped due to:
- the issue of a yellow or red card for misconduct
" injury
" substitution

ATR states the same as above but adds the following: No whistle is needed when play is restarted with a dropped ball.

I found a question answered here by one red that seemed to infer that even though it says to whistle that you never would see it. Another Ref forum says they follow the LOTG to the word.

Thanks for your help!

Answer provided by Referee Joe McHugh

Hi Francis
The ball is in play when it touches the ground. On any whistled restart the whistle only signals the intention not the actual start.
If there is a lengthy stoppage at an injury with players getting water, standing around and the referee is starting with a dropped ball it can be helpful to get players' attention that play is about to restart with a whistle. That gets their attention plus a focus on the restart. The ball is then dropped and play continues
Other times it is not necessary and players know that the game is resuming so a whistle is not required and play continues when the ball touches the ground.

Answer provided by Referee Dennis Wickham

I believe that the correct reading of the FIFA advice and guidance is that players must wait for the whistle before restarting play if the referee had held up the restart to address an injury or a substitution.

The referee doesn't 'stop' play for a substitution, even though that's what this seems to say. The players must wait for a whistle for a goal kick, throw-in, or corner kick (despite what it says) if the referee allows a substitution before one of those restarts.

Similarly, many times the referee addresses an injured player only after the ball goes out of play. In those situations, the players must wait for the whistle before restarting the match.

No one should literally read or parse these words. On a dropped ball, when would the referee whistle? Before dropping the ball? - - that doesn't start play. After dropping the ball - - that stops play? It is difficult if not impossible to drop the ball and blow the whistle at the same time.

As Ref McHugh notes, there are occasions when a whistle indicates to the players that they should be ready for the restart of play. But, the whistle is not mandatory for a dropped ball.

Answer provided by Referee Jason Wright

Good pickup Francis. I concur with my colleagues though - while it could be worded better, I believe it's referring to when the referee is delaying a restart.

Aside from the fact that the laws state the ball is in play when it touches the ground, there are two other very good reasons why you should not use a whistle at a drop ball:

1)Players won't appreciate being blasted with the whistle so close to their ears unnecessarily

2)If the ball is kicked hard and deflects straight up, it can strike you in the face. If you have a whistle in your mouth at this time, you can lose teeth. A colleague of mine once required surgery after being struck in the face with the ball while the whistle was in his mouth (though not at a drop ball).