Question Number: 31358

Law 12 - Fouls and Misconduct 3/17/2017

RE: Rec Adult

Neel Chopra of Oakville, ON Canada asks...

The question relates to indoor soccer though could apply to outdoor.

There's a tussle for the ball with a little pushing between player 'A' and his opponent. Player 'A' gets a bloody nose from a sucker punch thrwon by the opponent. Opponent gets a red card and is dismissed.

Opponent leaves the field of play and goes into the hallway/entrance area of the building. Play resumes. Player 'A' goes to the bathroom to deal with his bloody nose.

Player 'A' exits the bathroom and the two confront each other in the hallway. A fight ensues.

Game stops and the referee exits to deal with the situation. The fight can be seen by the players and ref because the wall enclosure is glass. Upon re-entering the field area, player 'A' is shown a red card. This will likely be for violent conduct.

Finally the question, can player 'A' actually receive a red card when they were not part of the field area inclding the bench? ie can they receive a red card from actions that occurred in the hallway and not within the soccer game field?

Answer provided by Referee Jason Wright

Hi Neel,

Interesting scenario - but you're right, could just as easily occur outdoors as a player heads back to the changeroom / wash room (whether it's a ground with a tunnel, or a local pitch with a toilet block over on the other side of the ground).

From the Futsal LOTG, the players fall under the jurisdiction of the referee from the moment they enter the premises where the pitch is located before the start of the match until they leave them.

When the match has already started it's even clearer - it doesn't matter if something happens some distance from the pitch; the player is a part of the game, and needs to be dealt with appropriately. It doesn't matter if they're at the pitch or not.

If an outdoor player left the field with permission to attend to an injury, and for some reason started a fight in the carpark he'd still be sent off - may not be in the vicinity of the FOP, but is still part of the game. Being in the vicinity of the FOP while the game is going isn't a requirement for disciplinary sanction. And as stated, simply being anywhere on the Futsal premises is sufficient to fall under the referee's jurisdiction.

The red card here is correct.

Answer provided by Referee Joe McHugh

Hi Noel
Correct decision for me. Player A got involved in violent conduct while involved in the game and that is a sending off offence. He remains under the control of the referee while playing in the game.
A more common example would be violent conduct in the changing room at half time or the end of the game. In both situations the offender has committed a sending off offence and in the half time one he takes no further part in the game and his team plays short. Cards are not shown and the player is informed that he is sent off and will be reported for VC.