Question Number: 24286

Law 8 - Start and Restart of Play 11/7/2010

RE: Competetive Under 17

Jeff K of San Diego, CA USA asks...

To start the second half the ref blew his whistle asking both teams to take the field. 2 minutes later, with neither team on the field he blew his whistle again and loudly announced 'time has started'. Our team ran on the field to take the kickoff which he would not allow until the other team also took the field. Once he blew the whistle and announced time had started should our team have been allowed to put the ball in play?

Answer provided by Referee Joe McHugh

Hi Jeff
The game is a competition between two teams. If only one team is on the field the play the referee has to wait until both teams are present and ready to play. A team must have a minimum of 7 players to play.
The referee has other measures available to him to ensure the team starts on time including a report to the competition organisers which could result in a fine.
Also unless it is a competition rule time starts when the ball is put into play not when the referee says so.

Answer provided by Referee Gary Voshol

I suspect this referee did not actually start time when he said so, but that it was a ploy to make you think that you were wasting your own time.

Teams must have at least 7 players to start a game (except for small-sided U-littles), and the Laws say that while member associations can continue the game with fewer players, they recommend that there be at least 7 players for the whole game. Presumably the referee could start the half as soon as at least 7 from each side were on the field, but that would be rather petty.

If players are taking too long to get to the field, the referee could elect to caution someone for delaying the restart. That would presume that the referee knew who was going to be a player and who a substitute, something that isn't always apparent in games with modified substitution rules.

There are some competitions - notably indoor or some tournaments - that schedule games on very close schedules. They often will state that the game will start at a specific time, whether teams are ready or not. Some tournaments even have horns or buzzers to mark the start and end of play on multiple fields.