Question Number: 31204

Law 7 - The Duration of the Match 1/27/2017

RE: Rec Under 12

JOHN CORCORAN of NEWPORT NEWS, VA United States asks...

This is crazy, With about 5 minutes left in the game, Coach A, with his team winning, decides to switch keepers. He asked permission at a stoppage. He wanted a player on the field to become keeper. I allowed the switch. However the switch took way too much time. The keepers had to switch shirts and exchange goalie gloves. The first goalie ran to the Porta-jon to take off his shirt. Then ran back on the field. Then the second goalie put the shirt on. Eventually the game restarted but with very little time left. I did stop the clock but is that the correct thing to do. The other coach wasn't complaining. Should I have given a yellow card to the goalie who ran off the field? If there is need to switch goalies should the new goalie be on the sideline all ready to go in? Can I give extra time for a situation like that?

Answer provided by Referee Joe McHugh

Hi John
The clock should stop when the change started and it should only restart when the game restarted. So in your case the remaining five minutes should have been played out along with any other time lost for injuries, substitutions etc.
As regards leaving the field to change the jersey I guess that the young player may not have wished to remove his jersey on the field of play. The referee has to respect that and allow it to happen. Technically he should ask although at this age he assumed that it was okay which it is. Permission can be implied and no need for a caution.
In respect of a substitution it us expected that the invoking player should be ready. If genus not ready the referee can restart the game and the team has to wait until the next stoppage to make the change.
Always add on time for time lost for injuries, substitutions, delays. The referee is the sole judge of time and what is lost time.

Answer provided by Referee Peter Grove

The Laws of the Game state that the referee should make allowance for time lost, including both time wasting and any ''significant delay to a restart'' after a stoppage. As to your second question, if the goalkeeper were being replaced by a substitute then yes, you would want the replacement keeper to be fully ready before authorising the substitution but in this case, since the switch is with an outfield player, that is not going to be possible. I also don't see any need to caution the player here, but you should definitely make allowance for the delay in your timekeeping.

Answer provided by Referee Richard Dawson

Hi John.
a tad unorthodox but at the youth level a bit of embarrassment perhaps a scar or just shy. No reason to do much other than ensure you make up for wasted time. You can urge them to hurry-up but be reasonable in your expectations.
Cheers