Question Number: 29375

Law 5 - The Referee 5/1/2015

Jason of Wylie, TX USA asks...

I have a question involving player safety.
As a coach I am familiar with many of the other players and parents in our league, not just my own team. In talking with a parent one night, they tell me that their child has had 4 concussions in the past few seasons. Not being the players parent or coach I don't have any say if they should even still be playing or not, but it still concerns me.
So then if I am the ref on a future game with this players team, and being armed with this knowledge, is there anything I can do to help protect her. Pretty sure I can't tell the coach not to play her, but if she goes to ground or has a head collision, can I remove her from play even if coach and parent want to keep her in?

Thanks for your thoughts on this.

Answer provided by Referee Joe McHugh

Hi Jason
As a referee all that can be done is to stop the game immediately on a head injury and ensure the player receives immediate treatment. The player is removed from the field of play. It is a matter for the team to decide if the player should return. Certainly if the player is exhibiting any signs of concussion the referee as a matter of safety can ensure that the player receives further treatment.
I would certainly be informing the coach about any injury concern that I witness during play although the powers to prevent the player continuing would be limited and certainly could only be done if the player was a safety concern to himself or other players.
In the recent Premier League game between Chelsea and Arsenal Oscar took a heavy knock to the head. After treatment he resumed play although at half time it was clear that he was showing signs of a possible concussion injury and he took no further part in the game. He was taken to hospital for a scan after medical staff were concerned about his well being at half time. Thankfully he did not have any serious injury.
Last season Tottenham were heavily criticised for letting goalkeeper Hugo Lloris play on against Everton after being knocked out for a period in a collision with Romelu Lukaku in the 78th minute.
Guidelines from the National Institute for Health and Care Excellence state people should not play any contact sport for at least three weeks after suffering concussion.
New EPL rules state that the club doctor has the final say on whether a player with a head injury should play on.

Answer provided by Referee Dennis Wickham

As a practical matter, there is little a referee can do unless the rules of competition provide for a medical release to return to play when the player has not sustained an injury during the particular match.

I recently attended a symposium on concussions in youth sports. The doctors who are specialists in concussions reported that in the vast majority of cases where the brain is permitted to heal before a second concussion can be sustained, that the players are able to return to play safely. While there is some evidence that someone who sustains a concussion may be more susceptible to having another one, they noted that at this time, there isn't sufficient data to conclude that multiple concussions indicate that a player should not play again. There have been players who were advised not to play, but those were based on a number of factors - most particularly, that the players still exhibited signs or symptoms from concussion. My takeaway as a member of the audience is that there are many studies ongoing, and that the scientific community is learning all of the time about concussions. On the other hand, there are known benefits of sport. It may be some time before we know the answer to the question: how many concussions are too many.

What was also absolutely clear - - children are at grave risk if they return to play before they have healed. If a child exhibits signs or symptoms of a concussion after an impact to the head, the child should see a doctor.

The following questions were asked as a follow up to the above question...

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