Question Number: 16390

Law 4 - Players Equipment 8/21/2007

RE: competitive High School

Ruth Jones of Leesburg, Ohio USA asks...

This question is a follow up to question 16211

My daughter has a fractured wrist with an arm cast. Per Ohio rules she is eligible to play as long as it is wrapped and she has a doctors note. Being that the doctor is the expert, and he doesn't see a problem, who are you, as mere referees, to decide what is best for my child or anyones child? My daughter keeps her arm tucked in most all the time and I've noticed that she has slacked off a little in her playing because of the cast, not wanting to accidently harm anyone. I've seen a lot rougher play between individuals who are not in casts then with them.
I've would also like to know why there isn't a uniform directive that tells a player what is sufficient padding for a cast. So far this month alone she has played with it just wrapped in a light foam wrapping that was recommended by a pharmacist, who said that this is what football players use. We have added a layer of cotton batting underneath the foam wrapping and have now gone to two layers. Some referees never said a word, others make an issue... What's the deal?? If it is acceptable once it should be all the time.

Answer provided by Referee Chuck Fleischer

Who am I as a mere referee? Well Ms. Jones I am the person responsible for the other 21 players on the field and if I deem her cast as dangerous to herself or to any other player it is the Law that she may not compete. It is that simple. The rest of the world of Football seems to think the referee's word concerning what is dangerous or not on his field during his match is sufficient. Your selfish desire to have your injured child be put in harm's way at the risk of the safety of the other 21 young ladies on the field is asinine even though NFHS High School Soccer Rules permit such ridiculousness.

Who am I? I'm the referee and without me there is no match, that's who I am. I'm distressed you have a problem with the safety of 22 young ladies.

Perhaps you should consider that? I'm the referee on this match today -- without me there is no Football match.

You may enjoy your right to put your child at risk but I will not let you put other children at risk so you may get vicarious thrills out of the pain and suffering of your child. Who am I you ask?

I'm the person responsible for the safety of your child and it seems I am alone in this.

Who am I? I'm the one who wonders who'll be the first person to sue when your daughter is further injured as a result of her participation?

Answer provided by Referee Michelle Maloney

The big deal is player safety - your daughter's and everyone who plays with or against her. Having had a daughter and a son in the same situation, I can sympathize - they are in agony having to ride the bench when in a cast, but as a referee I can tell you I prefer the youth leagues that ban the casts outright. Then I as the referee don't have to worry about whether the child will injure themselves further if they fall and the arm breaks above the cast, or they fling the arm out as they fall or trip and accidentally back hand someone or even whether the padding is sufficient or not. Even in high school, the referee always retains the authority to decide whether a player's equipment meets certain safety standards, The Ohio rules are the National Federation of High School rules and they are the same rules in nearly every other state. Some referees are stricter than others - it's the luck of the draw - be grateful they care for your daughter's well being. With any luck your daughter will heal before something else gets broken. And there is always the liability issue. Even though referees are protected to a degree by insurance, frivolous suits always make everybody lose. Wishing your daughter a speedy recovery...

Answer provided by Referee Gary Voshol

How much standing water does there have to be before the field is unplayable?

How hard does a tackle have to be before it is violent conduct?

How can a cast be made safe by padding?

Questions like these are ones that the referee is charged to answer in determining whether or not soccer is as safe as possible. The answers may vary from referee to referee, as the decision is not a binary on-off switch but rather is a slider bar.

Who are we as referees to decide what is safe? We are the ones that the Laws say make that decision. Sometimes league rules help us decide - for example if your doctor did not sign a release, there would be no question about her playing the high school game as it would be prohibited. But there are no league rules anywhere that take away the final decision on safety from the referee.

By signing the release, the doctor has said that he doesn't believe your daughter would re-injure herself in a soccer game. He has not certified that her cast could not cause damage to the other players. Who are we as referees to decide she cannot play despite the doctor's note? We are the referees, the ones who are charged with the safety of all the players. We are the ones told to decide what, in our opinion, is best for all the children under our authority for that game.

Answer provided by Referee Nathan Lacy

First of all, I am offended at the use of the term "mere referee." I officiated at the National level for 14 years and have officiated at the professional level for 25. Medical doctors are just that - medical doctors - and their "professional opinion" should be limited to their specialty and area of expertise and not applied outside of that area as you have done in this case. Having worked within the medical community for over 20 years and having associated with many a medical doctor I can most assuredly tell you that they are NOT experts on EVERYTHING as some might have you believe. That doctors note is intended to say that in that doctor's MEDICAL OPINION the player can play. Now to MY area of expertise - the soccer field and the safety of the players. If in my opinion there is a danger to other players then I don't allow the player in question into the match. Quite frankly, my decision is not based on the player's own personal safety but how that cast/wrapping might injur other players. You also speak to a very crucial aspect of officiating which we have been working at ad infinitum - consistency. I agree with you that it should either be okay or not. The trouble here is that referees are human, have differing opinions, and some are more experienced and better at determining these kinds of things than others. Each game is unique and the referee for that match is a "match condition." Accordingly, for that day if the ref says "no" then it is a done deal. Period. As far as the doctor's note - I don't care one iota. My decision will be made regardless of what an MD says.

Answer provided by Referee Debbie Hoelscher

This past June, my daughter had to wear a cast for 4 weeks on her wrist. During this time, she was specfically prohibited from doing just about everything, except breath, eat and sleep. I had signed her up to be involved in a gymnastics camp and a dance camp. I had to de-enroll her from those activities. I can tell you it was no fun for me to watch her just sit around because she couldn't go swimming and do those fun things. I'm really surprised that your doctor would medically release your daughter, but I'm in no position to judge that, but simply offer an personal opinion/observation.

Having said all that, let me see if I understand what you are asking. You want to know how I, as as "mere referee" should have the audacity to uphold and support the LOTG (that would be Laws of the Game, by the way) by insisting that equipment worn by players is neither a danger to themselves nor to others. To answer that, let's turn that statement around. Instead, let's say it like this: Being the referee for that match, who is the expert, he has decided that it is a problem. Therefore, who are you, madam and your doctor, just mere spectators, to decide how the referee should enforce the laws of the game? I mean, far be it from me (or any of my referee colleagues) to actually do our jobs; specifically, what we have been trained to do. Why do you want to suppose that a physician is an expert on the LOTG? Did you ask the doctor if he would give a medical release to the rest of the players that your daughter could have potentially injured? Or did you simply ask if your daughter could play soccer with her cast. Exactly what question was your doctor answering?

As a parent, it is my repsonsibility to decide what is in the best interests of my child(ren) -- not other people's children. I would never pass that responsibility on to any one else, be they physician or educator. As a referee, it is my responsibility to ensure the safety of each and every team member for the game to which I have been assigned. My integrity will not allow me to turn that responsibility over to anyone else either.

Answer provided by Referee Steve Montanino

Here is what the NFHS (High School) Soccer rules for 2007-08 say.

Persuant to Rule 4, Sec. 2, Art. 1:
Illegal equipment shall not be worn by any player. This applies to any equipment which, in the opinion of the referee, is dangerous or confusing. Types of equipment which are illegal include the following:
c. casts, spints or body braces made of hard substance in their final form such as leather, rubber, plastic, plaster, or fiberglass unless covered on all exterior surfaces with no less than .5 inche thick, high density, closed-cell polyurethane, or an alternate material of the same minimum thinckness and similar physical properties to protect and injury. A medical release for the injured player signed by a physician (MD/DO) shall be available at the game site.

In furtherance of these rules the rule book provides the following play ruling:
4.2.1.C: A player wears a hard cast on an arm or a hard splint on a finger that has been covered with a foam-rubber padding and then wrapped securely with a soft elastic athletic bandage. RULING: Legal. Players may participate if wearing a hard cast or hard splint if properly padded and with medical permission and referee approval.

So, the important thing to recognize here is that the langauge at the very top of the rule supercedes the subsequent language about permissible casts. That is - the prohibition on dangerous equipment which is subject to the opinion of the referee. This concept is supported by the play ruling which indicates that referee approval is required above and beyond the Doctor's consent.
The rules do not indicate that a doctor's judgement trumps the referee's judgement. In fact, it's the other way around in the language of the rules... the doctor's note only allows the cast to be considered by the referee in the first place, the referee still must deem the cast safe for that game on that day.

If you don't like the rules to be worded this way and wish a more specific ruling to be made which compels the referee to allow casts which meet a certain standard of safety, you would be free to petition the NFHS soccer rules committee to adopt such a standard. Without that action however, I'm afraid the rules leave you at the mercy of the referee's opinion. In the rules you will find your opinion, the opinion of coaches, players, and yes even doctors mean very little, compared with the opinion of the referee.

Answer provided by Referee Keith Contarino

Well mom, the doctor is NOT an expert when it comes to OTHER players safety. In Georgia youth soccer, no casts, period. Every referee is different. Depending on the age of a player and skill level, even if casts were allowed, I doubt I'd allow it because of the danger to the other 21 players on the field. Football players have helmets and shoulder pads so the chance of a player with a cast harming another player is slim and if an Orthopedist said a cast is ok then so be it. We as mere referees, although some of us have medical training, are responsible for the safety of EVERY player on the field. I'd be willing to bet if you asked your medical doctor if he'd be willing to guarantee the safety of the other players he'd have to say no and with good reason. You see, we mere referees have an awesome responsibility handed to us when we accept an assignment. We have to be concerned with player safety first and foremost sometimes even when the parents don't.