Question Number: 15684

Law 5 - The Referee 6/2/2007

RE: Rec Under 11

Christian Tyrrell of Hartford, CT USA asks...

Today it was about 90 degrees during play. One coach would tell his players when they were winded from the heat (I watched and heard this) to "lay on the ground" and then would call me and say "Ref, player down." or "Ref hurt player on the field."

What do you make of this behavior, and what is the proper call in a rec league?

Answer provided by Referee Keith Contarino

The proper call is to stop play and have the player removed. these are 10 amd 11 year old kids in high heat and you MUST assume they need to have fluids and get out of the heat. In fact, when doing younger games I TELL the coach and players at the pregame to PLEASE take a knee or lie down if they are in any way hurting and I'll stop play ASAP. Player safety is out # 1 concern! NOTHING is as important

Answer provided by Referee Chuck Fleischer

Typical ploy by a coach. Referee the match from the touchline. Typical. I suppose a player lying down in the middle of an attack by his opponents is a fair way of killing off the attack.

What the referee should do is allow the players to hydrate at any stoppage so long as they don't leave the field. Further the referee should be glad if a player needing to rest just steps off the field and rests. Note, this player may not return until receiving permission. Florida has mandated water breaks. Connecticut has a coach that wants his players to take naps.

The rest of the world has water positioned around the field and players drink it at their leisure.

Answer provided by Referee Gary Voshol

Just laying down doesn't sound like a serious injury to me. If I'm convinced this is just a ploy to stop the attack, I won't play along. I'll wait until the next stoppage, and then insist that the hurt player goes off the field for his treatment. I might just be a little hard of hearing when they're trying to tell me that he's recovered and wants to reenter the game.