Question Number: 15347

Law 3 - Number of Players 5/1/2007

RE: travel team Under 17

james tierney of springfield, mass USA asks...

Can a team play with only 8 players left on the field? Three red cards handed out to the same team in the same time and game terminated right after. Red card team was given the win. Is that right?

Answer provided by Referee Keith Contarino

Yes. 7 to start or finish in full sided soccer. The referee decides nothing as to outcome of game. With 8 players referee should have allowed the game to continue

Answer provided by Referee Chuck Fleischer

Law 3, International FA Board Decision 1 reads:

Subject to the overriding conditions of Law 3, the minimum number of players in a team is left to the discretion of member associations. The Board is of the opinion, however, that a match should not continue if there are fewer than seven players in either team.

In the USA the minimum number remains as advised.

With regard to ending the match before full time is left to the judgement of the referee. He is empowered to stop, suspend or terminate the match, at his discretion, for any infringements of the Laws and he must provide the appropriate authorities with a match report, which includes information on any disciplinary action taken against players, and/or team officials and any other incidents that occurred before, during or after the match. The referee is not given the power to decide the winner of a match, he is only allowed to count the number of goals scored by either side, that determines the winner of a full time match. The league acts to determine a winner or how a winner is determined on a match that is terminated or abandoned before time.

Regards,