Question Number: 33543

Law 3 - The Players 7/27/2019

RE: Professional

Fidel Jaary of Auckland, New Zealand asks...

Hi Sir,

I have two questions I wish you to answer

1- if a player gets injured (head knock), he was attended by the physio, does he need to leave the field of play.

2- A defender commits a reckless tackle against a striker, the striker gets treated by the physio, if a defender was cautioned with a yellow card does the injured player needs to leave the field of play or can he stay.

Answer provided by Referee Joe McHugh

Hi Fidel
When a physio attends a player on the field of play that player must leave and he can only return when play has resumed.
There are a number of exceptions
# a goalkeeper is injured
# a goalkeeper and an outfield player have collided and need attention
# players from the same team have collided and need attention
# a severe injury has occurred
# a player is injured as the result of a physical offence for which the opponent is cautioned or sent off (e.g. reckless or serious foul challenge), if the assessment / treatment is completed quickly
# a penalty kick has been awarded and the injured player will be the kicker
So the answer to 1 is that the player must leave and in 2 the player does not have to leave if the assessment is completed quickly.

Answer provided by Referee Peter Grove

Hi Fidel,
The basic provision of the law (although it's routinely ignored) actually says that players should not receive treatment on the field of play, beyond a quick assessment. Players should (according to the law) always leave the field for treatment and the only exceptions to that are those listed by ref McHugh. So in the case of a head injury that is considered serious (and head injuries usually are) the player can receive treatment on the field but must still follow the other part of the injury procedure that requires them to leave the field of play and only return after play resumes.

When a player is injured and the player who caused the injury received a card of either colour, the player can stay on the field after treatment - but only if the treatment is completed without excessive delay.

There is guidance in the 'Practical Guidelines for Match Officials' for this eventuality as follows:

''In principle, the delay should not be any longer than currently occurs when a medical person(s) comes on the field to assess an injury. The difference is that the point at which the referee used to require the medical person(s) and the player to leave is now the point at which the medical staff leave but the player can remain.
[...]
''As a general guide, the restart should not be delayed for more than about 20-25 seconds beyond the point when everyone was ready for play to restart.''