Question Number: 35791

Law 12 - Fouls and Misconduct 11/5/2024

RE: Rec Adult

Richard of Seattle, WA USA asks...

This question is a follow up to question 35789

Substitutes penalized, but not the team? Doesn’t seem fair, given two red card offenses.

Answer provided by Referee Joe McHugh

Hi Richard
IFAB the law making body has been endeavoring over the recent years to make the Laws ‘fairer’. Not so long ago a substitute or technical staff could not commit a playing offence with a direct free kick or penalty kick restart.
A substitute can now be sent off for denying an obvious goal scoring opportunity. In the past it was a caution and an IDFK. Now it is a red card and either a DFK or penalty kick. The team will still not play short yet the sanction is connected with play.
Thats the Law as written and it has been that way since substitutions became part of the Law. While a referee may consider it unfair or not that a team does not play short the referee’s only role is to sanction misconduct as per the Laws of the Game. Doing anything outside the Law would be a misapplication of the Laws which is not somewhere a referee wants to go.

The team is punished in that the number of available substitutes is reduced and if the team did not have a full roster that could mean less possible substitutions plus these players will not be available for the duration of any suspensions.
A league will also depending on the referee’s report may sanction the team for team misconduct which can be a hefty fine.

Answer provided by Referee Richard Dawson

Hi Richard,
Sorry I was away on your initial question but had a look at it. Silliness by substitutes off the FOP is not going to affect the numbers of players on the field of play unless they are at 12 bodies and after the red card removal a player gets hurt and thus no subs left! As my colleague has consistently pointed out only the number of available people not the limits of how many substitution opportunities! The individual penalty may cost them more than a loss of playtime, even the team itself might fine its own player for acting ridiculous. I mean depending on the accountability of their roaster actions, teams could be fined or restricted for team misconduct in a general sense of promoting or allowing unseemly behaviour? A referee can only react to the behaviours and apply the LOTG at their disposal. We have discretionary powers to decide to use or show cards but we can not change or break the LOTG themselves.
Cheers