Question Number: 23943

Law 7 - Match Duration 9/16/2010

RE: REC Under 19

Jay Ramey of El Dorado Hills, CA USA asks...

As a ref, I understand we must have two equal halves plus 'stoppage time'.

Recently, I coached a u19Girls game where the referee allowed the first half to extend to 65 minutes (should be 45 in our league). It was clearly a mistake and he admitted it...his watch battery died.

How do we play the second half...Do we play just the 45. To make matters worse, we only had 11 players and they scored all their goals in the 'extended time.' The referee then played the second half to approximately 55 minutes. I did offer him my watch.

I am really at a loss here. I know there are multiple 'infractions' to the LOTG, but this is truly beyond my knowledge.

Answer provided by Referee Joe McHugh

Hi Jay
In this case the referee plays 45 minutes in the second half and he reports his 1st half timing error to the competition organisers.
Again prevention is better than cure and referees should be using two watches to prevent this happening. Also what are the coaches doing while the referee plays an extra 20 minutes and the 10 minutes in the 2nd half, a full 30 minutes of playing?? I know that if a referee plays more than a few minutes added time in our Leagues the referee has to endure quite an amount of advice about time!!
I would suggest that this matter is reported to the relevant authorities.

Answer provided by Referee Dennis Wickham

Goodness.

I would contact the league's referee liaison. Absent a broken leg with a visit from the paramedics it is hard to imagine how there could be 20 minutes of added time in a recreational match. It sounds like the referee was not ready for U19.

Under the laws of the game, the second half still must be 45 minutes even if the referee erred in allowing play too long in the first half. The second half should not be shortened.

Sometimes, the only solution in these situations is for a coach to see what happens and then protest.