Question Number: 35715

Law 8 - The Start and Restart of Play 9/21/2024

RE: Competitive Under 19

JC of Madison, WI USA asks...

Question about a scenario where a defender takes a hard hit ball in the head and goes down with an obvious head injury in his own penalty area.

If you as the referee stop play for this, would you always consider the ball contacting the injured players head to be the last touch (and base the resulting drop ball restart on that touch)? Or would you consider the last touch to be when you decide to blow the whistle, or when you actually blow the whistle?

What if the ball were to fall to an attacker who scores prior to the whistle?
What if the ball ricochets off the defenders head and goes into the goal?

Would you count either of these goals, or would you consider play to have stopped when the obvious head injury occurred. Keep in mind this a youth soccer player in a league that has made clear player safety is paramount. Thanks!

Answer provided by Referee Joe McHugh

Hi JC
Thanks for the question
Yeah safety is paramount and play should be stopped.

Law 8 tells us and I quote
**The ball is dropped for the defending team goalkeeper in their penalty area if, when play was stopped:
# the ball was in the penalty area or
# the last touch of the ball was in the penalty area**

So it is the time the decision is made by the referee not when the signal is made. Probably not a lot of difference between both yet in the missed situations where play has continued outside the penalty area it will have a bearing.
Put it another way. Say a ball hits a player on the head and goes out of bounds for a throw in. What would be the referee’s decision if the player goes down. Hold up play, check on the player, see if treatment is required and restart with a throw in to the opponent not a drópped ball to the injured players team.

As to the immediate goal play has been stopped by that instantly so there is no need for the referee to stop play as it has already happened.
So unless the referee has decided and whistled instantly before the ball crossed the goal line there is no reason to disallow the goal.

I once was an AR in a game and a ball was crossed into the penalty area. A defender and an attacker jumped for the ball, there was a coming together with the ball falling to an attacker who instantly dispatched the ball to the net from about 8 yards or so. Obviously the goal stopped play immediately and it was only then that the head contact between the players was evident. Both players were treated immediately. There was no apparent foul by either player so the only decision to make was to award the goal. The only way the goal could have been disallowed was a foul by the defender which was not apparent.
Clearly on ball to head deflections that instantly end up in the goal the only appropriate decision is to award the goal. There is no possible offence and as play has been stopped by the goal anyway the restart is a kick off. The player gets treated as quickly as if the referee stopped play.

There may be complaints about head injuries yet all the referee can do is stop play which has already happened anyway so the referee has not had to do anything.
I get it if play has continued for a while and play has not been stopped for an injury there may be complaints yet that is a different matter entirely connected with awareness.
In the immediate goal situation it is just a matter of saying
* No offence and play stopped immediately. I cant do anymore than that and the goal is good*

Answer provided by Referee Richard Dawson

HI JC,
the reality of any situation dictates any response to be practical and doing what is in the best interest of the match. If the incident is a foul which causes the goal by the attacking team no goal is possible. If it was a foul by the defending team you apply advantage and allow the goal if no whistle to stop play had yet occurred!

The fact there is no foul lends credence to no immediate stoppage unless we correctly register the seriousness of the incident immediately for what it is! I have seen & heard collisions so grievous that even before the players hit the ground I was on the whistle.

A defender clears the ball into the face of an oncoming attacker, that ball crushes the nose and immediately deflects back completely across the goal line under the crossbar between the posts into the back of the net.

An attacker hits a shot at goal it strikes a defender in the same manner, that ball crushes the nose and yet immediately deflects back completely across the goal line under the crossbar between the posts into the back of the net.

The response time for a referee to witness the fact the ball deflects of the face but yet winds up in goal may well depend on the time to react and how far away from the goal this occurs. If it is bang bang, as in above scenarios chances are the goal counts as we then tend to the injured player before kick off.

If it occurs outside of the PA, given we are concerned solely with the condition of the injured player, being sufficiently far away from the goal and the impact is of such force we are hammering the whistle without even a thought as to the potential of that ball headed into the goal.

The DB restart to the keeper for an injury stoppage inside the PA will occur as the referee will have claimed play was dead when he witnessed the clear injury as the reason to immediately stop play, no matter the ball later made its way into the goal by any means.

As you rightly pointed out we should be more concerned for the kids welfare than a result, still you can only react to what you see! In a non foul collision, potentially resulting in painful body to body contact, like knee to knee, shin to shin head to head or a ball deflection like a groin shot or empty the breath diaphragm stomach shot or snap the head back causing player(s) to slowly collapse or go to ground. As referee if you decided to not stop and deal with this as a super serious injury but allowed play to continue while you thought about it and subsequent play results in goal you will be plagued with dissent by at least one team for sure! It is generally at the younger ages under 12 where any head to ball or collision results in an immediate whistle.
Cheers

Answer provided by Referee Joe Manjone

Hi JC,

Since you most likely referee high school soccer, and the ruling differs from the FIFA the high school NFHS ruling may be of interest to you.

There are three high school rules regarding the situation you describe. The first is NFHS Rule 9-1-2c which states the ball is in play until the referee blows the whistle. The second is NFHS Rule 9-2-1c which states the game is started with a drop ball following temporary suspension of play for an injury. The third is the ball is dropped at the location where it became dead unless in the goal area where the ball would be dropped on the goal area line which runs parallel to the goal line and nearest to the location of the ball when play was stopped.

Thus, in high school play the ball is dropped at the location of the ball when the whistle is sounded, not at the last touching. Also, the ball is not dead until the whistle is blown so if the ball went into the goal before the whistle, the goal would count.

Player safety in high school games is a top priority, so the whistle should be blown as soon as it was obvious the player was going down and may be injured.

I do hope you are having a successful fall season and will get to officiate in the WIAA post season tournament games in November.

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