Question Number: 33199

Law 12 - Fouls and Misconduct 3/30/2019

RE: Competitive Adult

Sean of Aberystwyth, Ceredigion Wales asks...

A 50/50 with both players making a fair challenge for the ball but unfortunately one comes out with a nasty injury. Should I have issued any disciplinary action for the injury even though the players both made fair challenges to play the ball without the use of excessive force

Answer provided by Referee Joe McHugh

Hi Sean
Unless the challenge was deserving of disciplinary action a referee does not decide based on the outcome of contact which can include an injury.
In our game tonight a forward went into a challenge with the goalkeeper in a reckless manner. The forward came off worse needing treatment nd he was cautioned by the referee.
Now the injury may alter the referees opinion to the colour of a card. I recall Referee Mike Dean going to caution a player for a bad challenge and when he saw the injury to the opponents leg he changed his call to a red card. He knew it was a bad challenge yet he did not realise how bad it was until he saw the deep gash on the players shin
If there is a fair challenge on a 50/50 then a card is not appropriate even with an injury. There may be pressure for a card from the injured players teammates yet the player may have been the cause himself.

Answer provided by Referee Jason Wright

Hi Sean,
Football is a physical game. Sometimes things happen. I've had broken legs result from completely fair challenges - both players come in equally hard, both get all ball, one player's shin gives way. Or one player's leg bounces off the opponent and gets caught on turf as both players are going down.

Sometimes, things just happen. Boots bounce off legs and balls and studs scrape legs, all sort of things happen. Not all injuries can be prevented.

And many injuries occur as the result of fair play. Tackles put a lot of strain on limbs - and you don't know what pre-existing injuries players have, how fatigue is affecting their body, or anything else affecting the injury.

Just because there's an injury it doesn't mean an offence has occurred. As a referee you need to be able to separate the act from the outcome in that regard.

How often have you watched TV and felt like the only reason the ref gave a card after a tackle was because the player was rolling around in agony, only to be able to say from the luxury of the couch and slow-motion replay that there's no possible way he was hurt? Of course, feigning injury is different to actual injury - but not to the official at the time it isn't.

Make your judgement based on the act.

Answer provided by Referee Peter Grove

Hi Sean,
If both players have made what you as referee, judge to be ''a fair challenge for the ball'' then there is no disciplinary action to be taken. We should only penalise players for foul challenges, not fair ones. As my colleagues have pointed out, sometimes injuries unfortunately occur even though there was no foul committed by either player - paradoxically enough, the worst injuries sometimes occur with the most innocuous-looking of challenges (or no challenge at all).

Answer provided by Referee Richard Dawson

Hi Sean sometimes in soccer accidents can occur because speed and Mass create a physics conundrum when opposing players meet in a fair challenge for the ball. This is especially true in youth soccer or large discrepancies in size between the players contesting for the ball. I have watch smaller kids bounce off larger players usually with no ill effects but occasionally broken limbs ankles legs knees arms ribs even nose. There's no need for cards these are simply accidents. Cheers