Question Number: 35887

Mechanics 2/21/2025

Petr of Prague, Czech Republic Czech Republic asks...

This question is a follow up to question 35886

I'll allow myself an additional situation. I think this can happen even at the highest level.

The team has no more substitutions.

S1: The player sits down. After the game is stopped, the referee sends him off the field for treatment. The player returns. He sits down again. The whole process is repeated several times. Can he receive a YC for this?

S2: The player is injured, but he can stand. He is standing somewhere near the halfway line. The ball is in play. Can the referee send such a player off the field? Or must the opponent assign a 'guarding' defender to such a player? Otherwise, he could take advantage of the situation and run at the goalkeeper himself. :-) So could a referee ban a player from playing because he doesn't think his health is good?

Thank you very much!

Answer provided by Referee Richard Dawson

Hi Petr,
There is no strictly right or wrong answer to either of your queries.
You manage the situation dependant on the players actions and their subsequent affect on the match itself!
The referee should report any incidents in the match report where player safety or behaviour is a concern.

If you have a cramped player or one hobbling about limping we might think its crazy or tactically inefficient & the coaches/players are wrong, that is still their choice. As long as they are abiding by the LOTG. We see an injured player, bleeding or a sick one that was removed for treatment, come back time after time, I might just not allow them back onto the pitch for longer periods of time and caution them if they return without permission.

However, aside from our neutrality and experience in enforcing the LOTG we are human. I can tell you if I believed a player was in clear danger health wise and I can not find reason to caution or send off I might choose to abandon the match before I allow him or her to participate. Particularly at the grass roots where there are not available doctors and first aid people as the elites have access too. I was an EMT for 15 years, while not a paramedic, I know enough to possibly recognize distress by a player in trouble! Head collisions and unconsciousness, some leagues even have protocols and bylaws in place!

A referee is there to ensure the laws of the game are enforced and the players are kept safe. Every decision, every choice has a consequence, some good, some bad, that includes players coaches, parents, fans etc.. as it it does referees. As neutral parties we are obligated to let the players decide the outcome. Players who take it upon themselves to screw around face possible sanctions. We apply the LOTG and use our discretionary powers when we have no other options to follow!

Certainly one can warn teams or the players through their captains and even their coaching staff that we're not going to tolerate foolish behavior. Unacceptable conduct on the field of play, can be cautioned as USB in as much as a specific fault of delay the game or failure to respect. Remember a referee is ALSO a match condition much like the weather or pitch condition.

No referee should seek out excuses to sanction, caution or send off but neither should they falter if their tolerance levels are pushed to the extreme and they must act in the BEST interests of the match! Referees can abandon a match or temporarily suspend but they do not control a result or order replays. The ROC and bylaws are in place for deciding how outcomes are resolved or adjudicated,
Cheers

Answer provided by Referee Joe McHugh

Hi Petr
In Situation 1 I would involve the captain on this, advising the team that the conduct is unacceptable. If the player’s position is not interfering with play the player could be ignored and play continues. If the action is being repeated for unsporting reasons the player should be cautioned.

I have seen players delay leaving while a substitute is readied and it causes problems for the game. A referee just has to manage these situations as best one can.

On Situation 2 a referee has no powers here. If a player is stood injured and knowingly decides to stay on with the full knowledge of the team there is no action required to be taken by a referee.
It is not up to a referee to decide the fitness or otherwise of any player. It is up to the team to make that determination, A referee can and should bring to a team concerns about say suspicions of concussion etc yet it is left to a team to decide. I have found that most if not all grassroots teams are mindful of player welfare particularly on serious injury situations.

I recall a particular underage game where a player was clearly injured and he was removed and returned a couple of times. He was probably the teams best player. It was clear to me that he was unfit to continue yet it was none of my concern. Eventfully his father who was present at the game came across to the technical staff and removed him from the game.