Question Number: 15352

League Specific 5/2/2007

RE: Adult

Daniel Gordon of Stellenbosch, Cape Town South africa asks...

This question is a follow up to question 7611

I need to know whar penaltee a player gets when he get a RED card during play. We are currently a soccer union in Stellenbosch and we like to know if a person gets a red card what penatlty does he get.
i want to know how long a player must stay behiand the line befoie he can play again

Answer provided by Referee Gary Voshol

A player who is sent off and is shown the red card cannot participate any further in that game, and he cannot be replaced by a substitute. If it is a youth player we will let him remain in the team bench area just so he isn't wandering around the parking lot unsupervised. An adult must leave the field area entirely.

In addition, the sent-off player will be suspended from at least one future game. Depending on the offense committed, he may receive a longer suspension - 2 or 3 games, a fixed length of time no matter how many games occur during that period, or even in extreme cases banned from soccer/football for life.

Answer provided by Referee Chuck Fleischer

Daniel many clubs publish their recommended suspensions for players sent-off and a check with my favourite search engine did yield some things that may help the disciplinary committee. The one thing that does help tremendously is referees writing proper reports. In those reports a concise appraisal of the facts at hand is absolutely necessary.

This report seems incomplete: #7 was sent-off in the 85th minute for violent conduct.

This may offer a better picture. On the 85th minute David Gordon of Shellenbosch Tigers did violently strike his opponent, Mik McGurk with his right closed fist in the left jaw. He did so when play had stopped after McGurk denied him an obvious goalscoring opportunity by tripping him just goal-side of the penalty mark. Gordon offered nothing against his sending-off for violent conduct and he quietly left the park. Play was resumed with a penalty kick that was successful.

Once referees become adept at report writing bans become easier to establish. Using the picture painted in the first the committee might favour just the one match ban. The second report establishes more of what happened and perhaps three, or more, matches might be well be an insufficient a ban.

Regards,

Answer provided by Referee Richard Dawson

People do not get a red card they are shown a red card as a direct result of misconduct considered in the opinion of the referee too pathetic or too serious to be tolerated from the list of 7 possible violations.
Sending-Off Offences
A player, substitute or substituted player is sent off and shown the red card if he commits any of the following seven offences:

1. is guilty of serious foul play
2. is guilty of violent conduct
3. spits at an opponent or any other person
4. denies the opposing team a goal or an obvious goalscoring opportunity by deliberately handling the ball (this does not apply to a goalkeeper within his own penalty area)
5. denies an obvious goalscoring opportunity to an opponent moving towards the player?s goal by an offence punishable by a free kick or a penalty kick
6. uses offensive or insulting or abusive language and/or gestures
7. receives a second caution in the same match.

A player, substitute or substituted player who has been sent off and shown the red card must leave the vicinity of the field of play and the technical area.

A display of the red card is simply to visually inform all why he is being sent from the field and his team plays down a man. A display of a red card in the short term is suspension from that game and the next one as a basic punishment for the misconduct which precipitated it! A disciplinary league convines within a specific time frame then considers the referee's the match report and the over all circumstances as to further suspensions fines or even refusal to allow him to participate at all!
Details are important only to define the action taken. Use a few choice words to convey the true extent of the action
#12 red Brian Lewis sent off for SFP 57 minutes
versus
#12 red sent off for a malicious high speed SFP tackle from behind on #17 blue who was injured and did not return to play at 57 minutes. #12 red remained combative and dissenting until escourted off the field by his teammates refusing to give his name which I obtained from the roster and playing id card
versus
#12 red Brian Lewis sent off for SFP 57 minutes on a sloppy but dangerous tackle from behind he was apologetic both to me and #17 blue who was hurt on the play He cooperated fully with my decision to send him !
Cheers