Question Number: 22259

Law 8 - Start and Restart of Play 10/16/2009

RE: NCAA Div. 1 College

brian of saint paul, minnesota USA asks...

I have a question which pertains only to the (in my opinion highly silly) laws for US NCAA collegiate soccer. I'm a USSF referee but not terribly familiar with NCAA rules, hence I was just a fan for this game.

Women's Big 10 matchup, Minnesota vs. Penn State tonight - both very good teams. Scoreless until the clock is nearly to zero when Penn State draws a foul just outside the Minnesota penalty area. Since there's very little time left, naturally the Minnesota defenders scramble to plant themselves 4 yards in front of the ball. The CR waves them back to no avail, and then with 6 seconds to play makes the signal for the timekeeper to stop the clock.

(Incidentally, the timekeeper fails to do so, the clock runs down and the crowd is confused until someone clues the timekeeper in, and 10 seconds are displayed on the stadium scoreboard.)

You can probably guess what happens next... shot and a goal.

So the question is this: what are all the circumstances a referee can signal for the timekeeper to stop the clock? My apparently misguided belief was that this could only be done after a goal, injury, caution/sendoff, or other strange circumstance (e.g., the field needing repair, which I saw happen at this stadium once). Clearly, in this case, the CR could well have issued a caution for delaying the restart of play--however, he did not.

Or is the decision to halt entirely up to the referee's discretion?

(Editorial comment - this is precisely the situation for which the wisdom of stoppage time is evident! There's nothing better than nobody knowing how much time is remaining but you.)

Thanks!

Answer provided by Referee Dennis Wickham

NCAA Rule 6.37 lists for the timekeeper when the clock should be stopped (on signal from the referee) but there is no 'whenever the referee stops the clock' provision (cf. NFSH high school rule 8.4.1).
IMO, however, the referee has discretion to stop the clock to deal with matters not listed in the Rule 6.37 that ITOOTR has caused an undue delay. The the defenders goal was to delay the restart rather than comply with their obligation to move 10 yards away. I would be surprised if any referee let the defenders get away with cheating in this circumstance.

For the referee, there is an advantage in game management when the players see the referee stop the clock for the use of delaying tactics. It keeps the losing team from getting angry at the opponents and removes the incentive for the winning team to use the tactic. It is as powerful as a caution. For matches played under TLOG, most players don't believe that referees add the right amount of time. So, the anger grows and the tactics repeated (sometimes even with a caution).

Answer provided by Referee Joe McHugh

Hi
Without going into the 'rules' pertaining to this incident I believe that the goal should stand on the basis of 'natural justice' as the team should have been allowed to take the FK.

Answer provided by Referee Keith Contarino

I believe, but am not sure and certain I'll be corrected if wrong, that in the NCAA, the clock is stopped for a caution. The Minnesota players blatantly refused to give the required 10 yards so the referee could have immediately cautioned one of the Golden Gophers which would have stopped the clock.