Question Number: 25052

Law 7 - Match Duration 6/2/2011

RE: Adult

Peter Babbage of hjorring, Denmark asks...

Rather than ask 2 seperate questions, I hope it is ok to ask 2 at once. In the first half, instead of playing 45 minutes, you get back to the changing room and discover you have only played 35. What should happen?

My other question is if you allow a substitution and amid some confusion, 2 subs come on instead of one and one of them promptly scores, what happens? Which one should go back off?

Answer provided by Referee Joe McHugh

Hi Peter
The Laws are mute on the timing error. It states that the referee must not compensate for a timekeeping error during the first half by increasing or reducing the length of the second half. So the referee has a number of options
1. Arrange immediately for the 10 minutes to be played, which will also require a '2nd' half time interval followed by 45 minutes.
2. If it is too late to play the 10 minutes the second half is played as normal and the error reported to the competition authority.
The key is not to let it happen in the 1st place
On the second question the referee's decision is to disallow the goal, ask the captain to identify the 'illegal' substitute, caution him and ask to leave the field of play and the restart is, depending on your association's advice either a goal kick or an indirect free kick in the goal area for the infringement. My preference is the IDFK as it is an infringement, committed before the goal was scored. The only issue is the location which is given as the goal area in 2006 Q&As on similar questions. In the US it is advised as a goal kick.

Answer provided by Referee Dennis Wickham

1. Go back to the field. Restart the match (a dropped ball if you can't remember how play was stopped at the 35th minute). Play the rest of the ten minutes. Begin the half-time interval (again). Do not add ten minutes to the second half; do not reduce the second half to 35 minutes.

2. The goal is disallowed because the team that scored has 12 on the field (it doesn't matter who scored). One of the substitutes needs to leave. In theory, the first of the substitutes became the player as soon as she entered the field. The second to enter is still a substitute. In real life, however, no one knows and few care. Let the captain decide who leaves.

Law 12 requires the substitute to leave the field and calls for him to be cautioned. IMO, however, the problem was that the referee team failed to properly manage the substitutions (one player off; one substitute on; if unsure, count the players before whistling for the restart). Losing a goal is a severe penalty - - it is unlikely that it will happen again. The caution may be unnecessary for match control. Circumstances of the match will inform the referee whether the card should be used.

Answer provided by Referee Keith Contarino

1. The referee should get both teams back on the field and finish the 10 minutes remaining. If ball was out of play when the half erroneously ended, restart with whatever is appropriate as to why ball was out of play. If the ball was on the field of play when you blew the whistle or if you cannot remember why the ball was out of play, restart with a dropped ball.
2. Assuming that the 2 subs coming on resulted in an extra person on the field for the scoring team, the goal is disallowed. One of the substitutes must leave and the Laws say he should be cautioned. However, if the extra person was on the field due to a referee error, most of us would view a caution as unfair and not give it. However, it will be up to the referee at the game and he/she must decide if there is any benefit to issuing a caution