A&H

Head injury

S

spuddy1878

RefChat Addict
This happened during a game last night (under 11s)

Ball in the area and striker takes a shot, he struck the shot medium strength and hits the defender who is on the goal line on the head who goes down, the ball bobbles around the area and the attacking team still have a two opportunities to score but they dont.

I blow up when defending team clear the ball and have an angry manager/parent saying head injury the game should have been stopped.

Its always a tough one especially with kids.

Was i correct or should i have stopped it instantly ?
 
The Referee Store
YHTBT. The referee should stop play when a player is seriously injured. The general consensus is that a head injury, generally, is worthy of a stoppage.
Add to that you have a young player down in a penalty area where he could get trodden on or hit in the head with a ball again the safe bet is to stop it.
 
Just looked through LOTG book, cant actually see anything that mentions head injuries specifically just the the line you have quoted.

Id normally always stop it, just think on this occasion the lad had a clear shot on goal and i knew the ball would have gone dead within the next 4-5 seconds.

This is what LOTG state, referee should stop play if
  1. a goalkeeper is injured
  2. a goalkeeper and an outfield player have collided and need immediate attention
  3. players from the same team have collided and need immediate attention
  4. a severe injury has occurred, e.g. swallowed tongue, concussion, broken leg
 
Last edited:
Good advice above. Another factor to consider is there is a goal scoring opportunity, the amount of time you think it would take to score and how long do you wait before you blow. For example a 'relatively' serious injury and a very immediate GSO could mean you wait a second or two. If the team doesn't score but the opportunity is still there (not as immediate) you may blow the whistle.

Don't worry about manager/parent appeal. The same manager would complain if you stop play immediately and it was his team with the scoring opportunity.
 
one said:
Don't worry about manager/parent appeal. The same manager would complain if you stop play immediately and it was his team with the scoring opportunity.
Click to expand...

Of course he would, he was trying his best to get the game stopped.

I think if the situation came up again id make the same decision again.

edited to tidy up the quote thing -ASM
 
Last edited by a moderator:
My daughter once tripped and limped a bit, I told her to run it off. 24 hours later she’s in A&E with a pot on a broken ankle! 😢

Point being, we’re not medics, do the right thing, have a quick look, is it serious? Is it just a minor thing? Say what you see but generally err on the side of caution, especially with our little cherubs.
 
In terms of game control (as well as the possibility of injury), I think stopping the game when he was down in the box would be the best thing; the player won't get hurt further and you can sell it too. I remember when I was playing (way before I was reffing, probably u14/15) our keeper was injured for about 30secs, laying in the net - the ref didn't stop it and they ended up scoring an open goal from a cross. Didn't do anyone any favours
 
Last edited:
I think there's a middle-ground with this. If the ball's at a strikers feet with an open net then stopping it is a bad idea. But a second or two later, it'll either be in the net, or have gone away slightly, and you can then jump in and stop play. Especially with a head injury to a U11 player.
 
Under 11's? So we're talking about players who are possibly as young as 8, 9,10 years old? At that age, I'd say it's better to err on the side of caution and stop play almost straight away every time - unless a goal is going to be scored in the next split second. I'm not waiting around while they take a couple more attempts, not when there's a child with an apparent head injury.
 
One of the oddities of the new DB change is that (once they go into effect) if you do stop with the attacker about to kick the ball into an open net, the restart is a DB to the keeper. Nonetheless, the younger the players the quicker to stop on a play like this.
 
spuddy1878 said:
This is what LOTG state, referee should stop play if
  1. a goalkeeper is injured
  2. a goalkeeper and an outfield player have collided and need immediate attention
  3. players from the same team have collided and need immediate attention
  4. a severe injury has occurred, e.g. swallowed tongue, concussion, broken leg
Click to expand...

That is not a list of when the R should stop play, but a list of when the injured player does not have to leave the field of play. the laws simply say "seriously injured" about when to stop play (and, IMO, what a referee should consider "serious" is very much age dependent):

Injuries
• allows play to continue until the ball is out of play if a player is only slightly injured
• stops play if a player is seriously injured and ensures that the player is removed from the field of play.

An injured player may not be treated on the field of play and may only re-enter after play has restarted; if the ball is in play, re-entry must be from the touchline but if the ball is out of play, it may be from any boundary line. Exceptions to the requirement to leave the field of play are only when:
• a goalkeeper is injured
• a goalkeeper and an outfield player have collided and need attention
• players from the same team have collided and need attention
• a severe injury has occurred
• a player is injured as the result of a physical offence for which the opponent is cautioned or sent off (e.g. reckless or serious foul challenge), if the assessment/treatment is completed quickly
•a penalty kick has been awarded and the injured player will be the kicker
Click to expand...

Pg 67 of the new Laws
 
socal lurker said:
One of the oddities of the new DB change is that (once they go into effect) if you do stop with the attacker about to kick the ball into an open net, the restart is a DB to the keeper. Nonetheless, the younger the players the quicker to stop on a play like this.
Click to expand...
That's gonna go down well...
 
Cheshire Ref said:
May i just add that these boys are playing "non competitive" football. Stop the game, whether he was about to score or not, just stop.
Click to expand...
Spot on. There's absolutely nothing at stake and if a parent wants to have a go at you for stopping a game for an injured 10 year old, I'm confident he'll look worse to the rest of the parents than you will
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top