Question Number: 27886

Law 3 - Number of Players 10/13/2013

RE: Intermediate Under 12

Phil of Tarzana, CA United States asks...

This question is a follow up to question 27875

There seems to be several possibilities, depending upon the outcome of the kick & I'd like to make sure I understand the results.

1. If Green team was short because the ref was too quick to blow the whistle for the restart:
a) If a goal is scored, the restart is retaken (as it's not fair that Green played down a player).
b) If a goal is not scored, then Green wasn't disadvantaged & the GK takes a goal kick. If the free kick misses & the ball is in play & the ref discovers his/her mistake, what happens? I'm guessing that it's a dropped ball.

2. If Green team was short because a player left the field without permission & the ref blows the whistle for a restart:
a) If a goal is scored, it counts & the ref can also decide whether the leaving results in a caution.
b) If a goal is not scored, the kick is not retaken because it had no affect on the restart. If the ball is then in play, the ref can decide whether to call advantage for the White team or whether to stop the game & award an IDFK to White & caution the player who left.

Do I have it correct or have I missed something?

As usual, thanks for all the advice.

Answer provided by Referee Joe McHugh

Hi Phil
The key to the decision is the reason and timing why Greens were short a player. The reason and timing will determine what action is or can be taken by the referee.
There can be many reasons why that happened and fairness to Green because of a quick restart is not one of them unless it was a substitution, caution, injury which are the reasons why the restart is on the whistle.
If the Green player was guilty of an offence while the ball is in play then that can be ignored by the referee if it would disadvantage the opponents and advantage can be played. the player can be subsequebtly caution at the next stoppage.
If a Green player does something while the ball is out of play, that does not change the restart and the player may still be cautioned. If the game restarts with the Green player's action having no impact on play then the referee should allow play to continue and he cannot go back to caution the player.

Answer provided by Referee Keith Contarino

In games such as the one in question, virtually all use unlimited substitutes and while there are a good many possibilities why Green only had 10 men, the most probable is it was inadvertant and most likely due to the referee not following the protocol out lined in Rule 3 and at a free sub, either 1 too many players came off or 1 to few came on.

If this is the case, the referee has made a serious error. First, there is no requirement that a team play all 11 players. As long as 7 are playing the game can continue. In no event should the referee have given the opponents a second shot. It was GREEN playing short for goodness sake. They already were at a disadvantage. Why further penalize them?