I didn't realise that every post on here had to be 100% made up of words from the LOTG! I'd be interested to know where the words "struggling" and "Ta!" are if that's an important criteria?'You shouldn't' and 'potentially' are two words that I'm struggling to find in the Laws GraemeS, can you point them out please? Ta
You're responsible for player safety. If a player isn't in control of his body due to alcohol or other substances, you have a responsibility to protect yourself and the other 21 players on the pitch by taking preventative action. In the situation Padfoot is concerned about (a player downing pints in the sin bin), I would be going over there and telling him that at the end of his 10 minutes, he can be replaced by a sub but he's not welcome back on the pitch.
I would also point out that one of the leagues I referee on has specific competition rules about alcohol being pitchside. To quote the email they sent out a few months ago:
If the "individual involved" is a player who's either in the sin bin or an unusued sub, I would be telling them to move away for the rest of the match."Can I also remind ALL match officials that the drinking of Alcohol around the perimeter of the pitch IS NOT ALLOWED, it is the responsibility of all of you to bring the matter to the attention of the home club and ask the individuals concerned to move away. If they refuse then the match will be abandoned and the club/persons failing to take action or failing to take responsibility must be reported."