A&H

React to injury?

Ganajin

Well-Known Member
Level 3 Referee
Had a game this week that left me puzzling. Ladies' game, reasonably high standard. Not a lot of bad fouls but players niggling about elbowing which I did not see. In second half yellow team player is downed when red player steps into her path deliberately. I immediately whistled for a foul and called on yellow coach as player stayed down. He entered and started telling me strongly that I needed to card the red team player. I had not considered it that bad a challenge and told him to just get on with treating his player. At this point the yellow player (this is adult) starts actually crying with pain, and it becomes clear that she has some kind of collar bone problem. The coach, still complaining that I was not protecting his player and telling me I need to at least talk to the opposition player, subs her off and we carry on.

My problem: my first thought was it was nothing but a simple foul. As the extent of her injury became clear, I started having serious doubts and wondered if I should have carded the other player or spoken to them. Except that after the coach's words it would have looked like I was just reacting because of what he said. Any advice on how to play this sort of incident?
 
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You will sometimes have players moaning about consistent fouling but aren't seeing anything wrong. I had a team moaning about being fouled yesterday, but what was actually happening was that they have just been promoted to the premier division and were being heavily beaten by one of the top tams so wanted me to help them. If that happens I always say that "Sorry, I didn't see it but I'll keep an eye open" so that both teams know I'm watching out in case there is anything going on. I then make sure I have angles on likely flash points so I can see if there is anything going on. It's usually the 9-5 area.

In your example it does sound like you should have dealt with the red player. If a player steps across in front of an opponent deliberately like this it's often a serious careless / borderline reckless challenge and needs at least a word, because the opponent often doesn't expect it and can be injured. If the player is down injured to the point where they have to be subbed then I'd suggest it's reckless at least / could be more if there were actually elbows / more serious force involved as well. This is where an angle is necessary, but if you don't have that then you have a decision to make. Not dealing with an incident like this can cause retaliation so it needs nipping in the bud.

When there's a foul and the player goes down like this I will usually shout "yes please number ..." before calling the trainer on. That means they know I'm doing something, but not what. That gives me time to think and calms the coach down because he can see I'm in control. Then if I don't think it's that bad I can just talk to her, or I can card her if I think it's necessary for match control. In a game where a team is complaining like this I'd probably caution unless I thought there was more in it. If I decide to only reprimand then I will get the captain in, but also will make sure everyone knows it's a serious bollocking by using lots of forceful gestures.

My advice on this occasion is not to hang around near the injured player, because as you found you can get painted into a corner and it's difficult to get out. Check the injury and then move away, taking the player with you even if you're only going to talk to her, preferably before the coach gets there. If you stay near the injured player then you have to listen to the coach and as you say any action you then take looks like a reaction to the comments not your own decision. If you do have this then I say something along the lines of "It's alright. I've got this!" suggesting that you were going to deal with it but were concerned with checking the injured player before doing so rather than reacting to complaints.

Try to suggest you're watching out for foul play more than usual and be more proactive when necessary. Slow the game down more, giving every foul and making them take it from the exact spot. Talk to players in play to show your position and use reprimands more when they commit fouls to show them you're in charge. You can ease off when the complaints die down.
 
Had a game this week that left me puzzling. Ladies' game, reasonably high standard. Not a lot of bad fouls but players niggling about elbowing which I did not see. In second half yellow team player is downed when red player steps into her path deliberately. I immediately whistled for a foul and called on yellow coach as player stayed down. He entered and started telling me strongly that I needed to card the red team player. I had not considered it that bad a challenge and told him to just get on with treating his player. At this point the yellow player (this is adult) starts actually crying with pain, and it becomes clear that she has some kind of collar bone problem. The coach, still complaining that I was not protecting his player and telling me I need to at least talk to the opposition player, subs her off and we carry on.

My problem: my first thought was it was nothing but a simple foul. As the extent of her injury became clear, I started having serious doubts and wondered if I should have carded the other player or spoken to them. Except that after the coach's words it would have looked like I was just reacting because of what he said. Any advice on how to play this sort of incident?
A player being downed by someone who deliberately steps into their path (presumably at a pace greater than walking speed, otherwise how easily did they go down?) is being at the least careless, and closer to reckless, earning a "must" caution.
If there was more to the contact than just standing and being hit, it verges on being serious foul play - it both endangers the safety of the opponent and would use excessive force.

I think your first problem was to see this as "just another foul" and reject outright a sanction. Especially in and possibly because it is a game that already has complaints about missed fouls, you absolutely must nail the actual fouls when they occur and recognise the severity of the foul appropriately.

Having said that, managing the game would mean doing something about the fouling player. Check that the injury is being attended, but otherwise move away after treatment arrives - don't just walk away from a player with a potentially serious injury unless and until another person with responsibility has taken over.

Once free, go and deal with the player who committed the foul. Even if you don't think they did more than "just" foul, you need to be seen to be doing something about an event that causes such a serious injury, so a firm warning about unnecessary contact and that such play will be much less favourably received if it occurs again, would be the baseline. Accompany with the appropriate card if that's also the decision.
 
As the extent of her injury became clear, I started having serious doubts and wondered if I should have carded the other player or spoken to them. Except that after the coach's words it would have looked like I was just reacting because of what he said. Any advice on how to play this sort of incident?

Yeah, no point going by the injury alone. Sometimes, the softest of tackles can end up doing serious injury. I've had an ambulance out for a keeper who got collided on in one of the softest ways possible, mostly due to the way he landed and no one expected any cards for it, it was just one of those things.

But, I'm sort of agreeing with the other posters, if the player has stepped across the other, that sounds like they have had no intention of getting the ball or challenging for it. They're outright doing that to block them off/foul them. That warrants as a minimum a talking to and potentially a caution if I'm visualising this correctly.
 
... just to bang home, I’ve learnt the hard way, don’t stand over the injured player or anywhere near the physio, especially when it’s actually the mouthy coach.

If they start shouting at you from 10m away it’s an easy warning/card when they are back in the dugout, but if you are there in their face you are painting a target;)
 
So would cautioning the offending player have cured the injured player's collar bone? Of course not, and I have never understood this argument from managers. You can't give sanctions based on injuries, sometimes even a barely careless trip can cause serious injury if the player twists something or lands awkwardly.

That said, stepping into her path deliberately does sound like a tactical foul, presumably to break up a promising attack, so it does sound to possibly be in the realms of SPA or reckless.
 
Actually I fully agree with everyone here. Standing on the pitch, having had a while to think while the lady got treated for her injury, I also wished I had yellow carded her opponent. My real question is: having waited a while (during which I was being told I should have shown a card) finding I was agreeing with them, would it have been possible to call the offender over and caution her? It would have looked like I was just caving to pressure?
 
Actually I fully agree with everyone here. Standing on the pitch, having had a while to think while the lady got treated for her injury, I also wished I had yellow carded her opponent. My real question is: having waited a while (during which I was being told I should have shown a card) finding I was agreeing with them, would it have been possible to call the offender over and caution her? It would have looked like I was just caving to pressure?
Yes, hence the advice to move away, give yourself a little thinking time away from the perceived influence from the team official......not too long mind, don't want to be calling the offender from way over the other side of the pitch.
 
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