Question Number: 27470

Law 5 - The Referee 5/22/2013

RE: Club, High School Under 17

TJ Chulick of Kirkwood, Missouri United States of America asks...

Hey Ref,

There was an instance in previous game that I was participating in. The opposing teams goalie had punted the ball the length of the field with just barely any time left. The opposing teams forward came charging down the field and ran into our goalie, my partnering center back pushed him off the goalie. The ref blows the whistle for the end of the game,I went up to the kid and assured him that he could make everything better about his loss if he were to stop talking some trash. We tossed each other back in forth a little physically but nothing extreme. The ref then asked us to both come here after the time was up. I assured the ref that the game was over and I was entitled to listen to his directions regarding the game. I simply told him 'the game is over.' Even directly after the game is the ref entitled to have a players consent to obey him right after the game. If so is he allowed to eject from the next game or distribute a yellow or red card?

Answer provided by Referee Joe McHugh

Hi TJ
NFHS Rules 5.1.2 states that ''the jurisdiction of the officials shall begin 15 minutes prior to the start of the game and end with their leaving the field of play and its immediate surroundings''. This is similar to FIFA's ruling that ''the referee has the authority to take disciplinary sanctions from the moment he enters the field of play until he leaves the field of play after the final whistle.''
So in your scenario the referee was perfectly entitled to give direction to players and to take disciplinary actions such as a caution or an ejection even after the final whistle. If for instance the referee deemed that both players were guility of violent conduct then both player would be ejected and shown the red card.

Answer provided by Referee Dennis Wickham

Yes. The referee's authority to punish misconduct extends after the final whistle. Since you were still on the field of play, cards should be shown at all levels (TLOG, college (NCAA), or high school (NFHS).