Question Number: 30855

Law 12 - Fouls and Misconduct 10/4/2016

RE: Rec Under 13

troy tadych of columbus, Wisconsin United States asks...

Coaching a game this weekend when one of my players left the field during live action because he was upset. This player can get emotionally hot during the game, and his emotions were triggered by catching a ball with his face after an unintentional kick by the opposing team. He was upset, and in his mind, instead of retaliating against the other team/player, he walked off the field.

The referee stopped the game and talked to me. He told me I can't substitute the player, and I said OK. He restarted the game with a drop ball. On the next side out, I had a substitute enter the game for the player who left (the player who left didn't come back in for the rest of the game).

This is a rec level, and I have no problem with how the ref handled it. But what is the proper procedure for handling a situation like this?

Answer provided by Referee Joe McHugh

Hi Troy
This game may have been played under modified rules.
Anyway in a regular game a player getting hit in the face with a hard shot is for me a reason to stop play. It could result in a head injury so the physio should be invited on to the field of play to deal with the player. The player can then leave for treatment or whatever. As play is stopped for an injury the restart is a dropped ball from where the ball was when play was stopped.
Now as the substitute is probably not ready to enter the game should not be held up so the restart should happen immediately. The substitution can happen at the next stoppage. If the sub is ready immediately then it should be allowed.

Answer provided by Referee Jason Wright

Hi Troy,
This may have been played with some sort of modified ruling - but under the LOTG, you could have arranged a substitution at the next stoppage (and the drop ball would count as that stoppage).
I can't see any reason for the referee to have stopped play here - he had left the field so there was no ongoing issue. If he had stayed off the field for a bit then returned and interfered with play that would require a stoppage.

A player walking off the field is inviting a caution for Leaving the Field of Play without Permission.

If it looks like the player has left the field to recover from an injury then the referee would allow leeway for that - although if he's able to walk off then perhaps he wasn't that badly hurt. If he just stormed off the field then he's lucky he wasn't cautioned.

Answer provided by Referee Peter Grove

Hi Troy,

I agree with ref McHugh that a hard shot to the face would most often be worth stopping the game for - especially in youth matches. While technically, a player can be cautioned for leaving the field without permission, I think it would be extremely harsh to apply this to a 12 or 13-year old who has just been struck in the face.

Now, if the player just wandered off the field without the referee being aware of it and play was still ongoing, then I could understand the ref not allowing a sub on at that point but when, as you say, he had already stopped play then, assuming you had a sub ready to go, I cannot understand not allowing this - unless as my colleagues mention, some local or competition rule regarding substitutions precluded it.