Question Number: 25830

Law 6 - Assistant Referee 12/13/2011

RE: 1 Adult

Garikai Kondanani of Harare, Harare Zimbabwe asks...

This question is a follow up to question 9652

During normal play,he referee was hurt by the ball at the face,one of the player violently punched the opponent,other player went out of the field of play,in protest of violent conduct over his teammate.The Assistant Referee in view suddenly showed a red to a player who violently punched an opponent and cautioned the player who went out in protest over his player who was violentlly punched,when the referee raised his head he only notice the sitiuation when cards were being issued,how do yu deal with the situation.

Answer provided by Referee Dennis Wickham

The better way for the assistant referee to handle this is to use voice and presence to separate the players and contain the confrontation. The assistant can then inform the referee of misconduct that the referee did not see. The referee would then show the cards to the players - - the referee may punish acts that the referee did not see, on information provided by the assistant. The referee report should include all of the details.

The assistant referee has no power to show cards or send off players. But, if displaying the card prevented the situation from escalating into a full brawl, it might have been a creative (though unauthorized) tactic.

Answer provided by Referee Joe McHugh

Hi Garikai
Assistant Referees have no authority to issue cards during a game. Only the referee can take such action. The AR can step in to speak to players and to intervene as appropriately between players.
However he then waits until the referee can assume control of the game and he informs the referee of what has happened and he can give advice as to what action the referee should take.
For instance he can say I saw Red No 9 strike No 8 Blue violently and Red 9 should be dismissed for violent conduct and I saw Blue 12 enter the field of play to confront an opponent and he should be cautioned for unsporting behaviour etc.
In the match report the referee states the facts of what happened to him and the incidents unseen by him are included in a report by the assistant referee.