Question Number: 16790

Law 5 - The Referee 9/19/2007

RE: Classic Under 11

Kevin Humphreys of Boyds, Maryland USA asks...

Our goalie was hit in the face by a shot and went down in pain (boy, age 9). The ball stayed in play and our teem took it to midfield by the time we realized the goalie was not getting up. Once across midfield there was a battle for possession and the other team came away with the ball, worked it downfield, and took a shot that missed wide. Our goalie was on the ground holding his face the whole time. The referee claimed he could not stop the game until the ball was out of play.

Does this qualify as an exception to the injury rule? Should play be stopped automatically if the goalie is on the ground and not getting up?

Answer provided by Referee Steve Montanino

The referee should stop play if a player is seriously injured, the referee should allow play to continue if the player is not seriously hurt until the ball is out of play.

As the referee, it would be my judgement that play should stop very soon after it was apparent that the goalkeeper was not moving. In fact, at the U-11 level what I deem serious has a much lower bar than the adults. So the referee here should be erring on the side of safety!

Answer provided by Referee Richard Dawson

Hi Kevin,
this is my opinion not saying everyone will agree, a referee is NOT obligated to stop play unless he feels the injury to any player is serious. For a team to legally play the game the team must have a keeper. One holding his face after being struck by a ball lying prone and not moving from there for the length of time you described at age 9 beckons the question huh???? Stop play and attend to the keeper for goodness sake, a ball in the face on a shot at goal is a form of head trauma and possible nose bleed, loss of conciousness, ocassional red puffy face and debri in eyes. Common sense means we stop play for things we are UNSURE about especially at the lower ages. Cheers

Answer provided by Referee Chuck Fleischer

Kevin the what to do on this is spelled out in Law 5. The referee will stop the match if, in his opinion, a player is seriously injured. Further on Law 5 states the referee will allow play to continue if a player is, in his opinion, only slightly injured. That is the what to do.

The how to do it relies on the referee's situational awareness. Far too often at the competition level you address the referee is young and very inexperienced. They follow the ball around the park with their eyes and never see what happens where the ball isn't. As the referee gains skill so to he gains tools which will assist in improving situational awareness, The major tool I speak of is looking around the field when there is little chance of there being foul play. During those quick look around's the referee will notice a 9 year-old down on the floor in a heap, crying. That is a serious injury!!! [regardless how many band-aids are needed, if any] Bent children [at that age] are always seriously bent until it is proven otherwise. For the most part proving otherwise involves stopping play and checking for leaks.

Your referee was inexperienced enough to think he could not stop play just because he wanted to. That's the key, he wants to stop play and check if the injury is serious so he blows the whistle and stops play. Cool. Everyone breathes a sigh of relief [especially the keeper's Mon and Dad] and we restart with a dropped ball where the ball was when play was stopped, just like it says in Law 8.

It takes experience to learn that, or it takes being awake in my entry level class when I say pretty much what I just wrote.

Regards,

Answer provided by Referee Keith Contarino

What your referee said was utter nonsense and he has no business refereeing games played by small children. While Law 5 is clear we are to stop the game for any serious injury, we should ALL consider a 9 year old laying prone on the ground as being serious. What was this referee thinking? Our primary resposibility is player safety and this referee failed miserably.

Answer provided by Referee Michelle Maloney

There is no stopping automatically in this game unless the ball leaves the field or the referee blows her whistle. In situations like this, you need to get hold of the referee assignor for the league and explain what happened and what you learned here, so the assignor can visit with the referee, get his side, and if necessary, correct any misconceptions about what the Laws allow him to do regarding injury or possible injuries.