Question Number: 21482

Law 3 - Number of Players 6/5/2009

Zeke Beckenbauer of Soccerbrook, Canada asks...

Is there any law (of the game) that states that a referee has to wait till substitute comes to the position before he restarts the play?

If 80% of referees do wait, then should it be right to do one of the next:

1. The FIFA instructors should act and suggest to those referees to stop doing that. (Reason: violating the Law of the Game, that is there 'for the sake of the game', and thus wasting the time of the opposite team).

2. Myself, as a trained, licensed and registered referee should abandone the Law of the game and violate it by doing the same as other 80% referees; just to make sure I go with the flow?

Answer provided by Referee Michelle Maloney

Are you asking if once the substitute has entered the field at the referee's beckoning should the referee wait until the player is in position before restarting play?

If your question is whether or not there is a Law that says the referee must wait, the answer is no. Of course, there is the converse to that as well - if there is no Law that says we must wait, neither is there a Law that says we have to start whether or not he's in position. So the referee is left with common sense and a feeling for the game to answer your question.

What you do have is the duty of the referee to add back to the game any time wasted through substitution and other causes (Law 7 - The Duration of the Match). Which means any extra time taken at a substitution for the new player to find his position over and above what is reasonable can be added back so there is no loss to the opposing team.

I would suggest the referee have a good read of the game. If he waits for players from each team to take a reasonably quick amount of time to run to position, no one is going to question the decision or accuse him of delaying play. Don't make trouble where there isn't any.

If a new player is lolly-gagging around and is slow going to his position, and we restart play with him out of position (due to the delay), the only ones who can complain are his teammates, and they will be yelling at the laggard, not the referee.

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Answer provided by Referee Keith Contarino

The referee is free to restart play as soon as the substitution is completed, i.e. as soon as the substitute enters the field and becomes a player. It's not my experience that 80% wait until the player has taken his position. Most will use common sense and at least allow the player to run towards his position unless the player is taking a long time and just walking in which case play is restarted. The only time I positively wait for the player to take position is on a throw-in and the substitute has been put in and will be taking the throw.

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Answer provided by Referee Richard Dawson

In an unlimited substitution environment really is dictated by the common sense of all the participants to hustle in and out and follow procedures to avoid issues. The balancing act of a referee that is too officious or too weak to be effective reflects on the experience and character of each of us. A referee who patiently waits for everyone to be in a particular spot all the time is likely to be wasting valuable play time just as a referee who is restarting as players are stepping onto the pitch is creating some unnecessary bad feelings.
Follow substitution procedures. DEMAND those who exit and those who enter do so in a timely fashion or after a warning consider cautioning them for delay of the restart! Nothing like move it or else suffer the consequences! IF this is a match where you can make up for lost time to the match with no problems then this ceases to be a major concern.
Cheers


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