remove player from the field of play

[one]

I don't disagree, I know what the law but its a lot easier when obvious.
But if you have already been deceived into a caution we are a step ahead from that point. If you are saying to a player, do you need treatment/assessment I assume we are already at the point where we believe they are potentially injured.
Assuming, without proper knowledge or assessment that a player is feigning injury, after being on the receiving end of a challenge that endangered their safety or had disregard to the consequences for them, is a pretty dangerous game.

Yes, there will be grey ones, eg careless but SPA where the law about stopping on is applicable and I know its not a catch all and there will be edge cases, of course. But as a general rule, we only have our eyes to inform us, and that is not enough, medically, to determine if a player is injured enough to enforce the stay on the field rule.

I think I have only seen a player in the top levels once booked for feigning/embellishing injury which was Messi after being hit by a bottle.

I would add also, at most proper grassroots, its a bloke with a bucket and sponge with no first aid training so perhaps I am looking at this from the level I generally operate at where there are, mostly, proper physios.

You are taking this outside the scope of what my post had intended.

If I get a player off the field for injury assessment and I know they were using time wasting tactics, they are spending a bit more time on the sideline. I give them benefit of doubt if there.

If I know it without doubt then others would see it too and it will discourage other players from employing similar tactics. This game management technique is independent of if it was a physical challenge or a sanction was issued or not but they are considerations.

You says we only have our eyes to inform us. I disagree, you have your 20 years (or whatever) experience refereeing, common sense, ability to read the game and judging characters to help you understand if a player is trying to waste time. To give you an example, I see a player go down and claiming injured while I have seen no reason for it. Get someone on to assess, he is going to sideline for treatment and now he says he needs a second person to help and doing it very slowly. These are all tell tale signs to the eye that he is wasting time. BUT his team is behind and chasing points and its the last 5 minutes of the game. There is no way I am going to make him wait any longer than he needs on the sideline. The other way around, his team has already used some time wasting tactics and been warned, then it's a different story.

 

[JamesL]

You are taking this outside the scope of what my post had intended.

If I get a player off the field for injury assessment and I know they were using time wasting tactics, they are spending a bit more time on the sideline. I give them benefit of doubt if there.

If I know it without doubt then others would see it too and it will discourage other players from employing similar tactics. This game management technique is independent of if it was a physical challenge or a sanction was issued or not but they are considerations.

You says we only have our eyes to inform us. I disagree, you have your 20 years (or whatever) experience refereeing, common sense, ability to read the game and judging characters to help you understand if a player is trying to waste time. To give you an example, I see a player go down and claiming injured while I have seen no reason for it. Get someone on to assess, he is going to sideline for treatment and now he says he needs a second person to help and doing it very slowly. These are all tell tale signs to the eye that he is wasting time. BUT his team is behind and chasing points and its the last 5 minutes of the game. There is no way I am going to make him wait any longer than he needs on the sideline. The other way around, his team has already used some time wasting tactics and been warned, then it's a different story.

Perhaps I misunderstood your post as I thought you were talking specifically about after a caution or send off, as I was.