Question Number: 18570

Law 3 - Number of Players 3/18/2008

RE: Adult

Zareen of Singapore, Singapore Singapore asks...

Illegal 12th person/player enters the field and gives chase to a ball about to enter the goal he kick it out of play or to other direction. What is the ref decision?

Answer provided by Referee Richard Dawson

If the culprit is a 12TH body not sure how he could be a player however as a substitute or substituted player he is cautioned and shown the yellow card as by his illegal entry he is guilty of unsporting behavior.

With a player the indfk for the illegal entry occurs immediately upon him entering the field of play and is a cautionable action as he has entered the field without the permission of the referee.

If the ball looked likely to roll into the goal advantage could be applied to await the outcome rather than stop for the indfk from where the ball was at his entry point

If the ball was prevented from entering the goal by a kicking action of the ball from a substitute or substituted player while we will caution for usb and shown the yellow card for his illegal entry is he not still guilty of a second unsporting behavior for doing this SOLELY to kick the ball away from his goal??
Could a referee hold the opinion the ONLY reason this player entered the field was to deny this goal he MIGHT see it as further USB over and above the illegal entry and thus a send off via receiving two cautions!

A player (who was temporarily off for equipment or injury this might not qualify as an offence It is not illegal for a player to kick the ball and if that was all that occurred a caution and indfk would be fine even though it does not met out true justice.
The funny thing is if a substitute or substituted player or player entered and either used their hands to stop a ball from entering the goal that is a direct send off via a direct red if DOGSO criteria applied.
We have discussed at length here on the panel the FAIRNESS issue of why an illegal entity could enter and kick a ball to stop a goal and only be cautioned and yet if the hands are used to stop a goal we can go directly to a red card send off. The FACT is, if a goal is UNFAIRLY stopped by someone who was not allowed to be there why can we not send him off?Just because he kicked the ball instead of using his hands?
A substitute or substituted player can only create misconduct not a foul as can a player. A player is permitted to kick the ball whereas the substitute or substituted player which are held to the same standard of misconduct as a player, I ask how can they how can they legally kick a ball?
IN my opinion, which is quite possibly different than FIFA the actions we take are determined by what we see. If we ACTUALLY witness a person off the field run onto the field solely to do this action it is different then we count 12 players AFTER it occurred.

If it was a non eligible player or spectator as an outside agent the restart is a drop ball although the league may take disciplinary action against the team whose supporter/associate interfered.
Cheers



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Answer provided by Referee Ben Mueller

The extra player is cautioned and the match is restarted with an IFK at the spot of the ball when the referee stopped the match. Advantage could be applied here if the ball looked like it was going to roll into the goal. As referee Dawson states, there could be a send off here for denying obvious goal scoring opportunity.

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Answer provided by Referee Steve Montanino

I would likely caution the substitute for entering the field, then giving them another caution for kicking away the sure goal (unsporting behavior for both.) This results in the sub being sent-off for 2 cautions. Play is restarted with an IFK at the location of the kicked ball, as ther referee shouldn't decide to stop play until he sees the extra player make contact with the ball.

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Answer provided by Referee Chuck Fleischer

The substitute is only guilty of entering without permission. Unless he is guilty of some subsequent misconduct, for example unsporting behaviour or violent conduct, he cannot be sent off straightaway UNLESS he is guilty of Sending-off offence [SO] 4. Because he is not a player he may not commit one of the offences punishable by a free kick that are listed in Law 12. He, therefore, may not be sent off SO5. If he is guilty of subsequent misconduct that is deserving of a second caution he will be sent-off for a second caution in the same match. His side will remain with the same number of players it had before his illegal entry. This is a loophole discovered by this site 1 to 2 years ago.

It is possible for a substitute to enter without permission, deny a goal by something that would be a penalty and a sending-off if committed by a player AND only be cautioned. The restart of play is indirect free kick where the ball was when play was stopped by the referee.

Regards,

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Answer provided by Referee Gary Voshol

FIFA used to publish a document called Questions and Answers on the Laws of the Game. Since 2007, similar concepts have been covered in the extended version of the Laws of the Game called Additional Instructions. (The USSF has not published the Additional Instructions in their version of the Law books, so anyone from the US must look on the FIFA website to get the whole story.)

In Section 3 of the 2006 Q&A we find:
[quote]
3.13. A substitute, warming up behind his own goal, enters the field of play
and prevents the ball entering the goal with his foot. What action
does the referee take?
The referee stops play, cautions the substitute for unsporting behaviour
and the match is restarted with an indirect free kick to the opposing
team where the ball was when play was stopped *.
3.13.1. If the player prevents the goal with his hand, what action does the
referee take?
The referee stops play and sends-off the substitute for denying the
opposing team a goal by deliberately handling the ball and the match
is restarted with an indirect free kick to the opposing team where the
ball was when play was stopped *.
[end quote]

Notice the difference between the response if the substitute uses his hands versus playing the ball in what would be a fair manner if he were a player. The sub can be sent off for Denying an Obvious Goal Scoring Opportunity only if he commits what would be a misconduct if he were a player. Else, it remains a caution, unsporting behavior, for the illegal entry only. While this may seem like nit-picking, it follows from the substitute's position in reference to the game. Since he is not a player, he cannot commit fouls.

We may view the substitute's interference with the play as a second instance of unsporting behavior, and he would be sent off for receiving two cautions.

Play restarts with an indirect free kick if the illegally-entering person is a substitute. If the 12th player coming in is an outside agent (not player, substitute or substituted player), the referee will ensure the player is removed from the field, and play will be restarted with a dropped ball.

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Answer provided by Referee MrRef

There are many things to consider when thinking about a 12th person/player! The first and most important is do you have authority over him or is he an outside agent? Outside agents are those not associated with the match as are players, substitutes or substituted players. They include sent-off players, members of the technical staff and spectators. For those folks interfering the restart of play is dropped ball where it was when you stopped play. Members of the technical staff are expelled from the technical area, the others are handled by security and the referee writes the facts connected with the incident in his match report.

Where things get complicated is when we try to sort out what is right and what is fair and what we can sell to a grievance committee. Substitutes and substituted players entering without permission are guilty of unsporting behaviour from the outset! If the referee comes to the opinion the entry was intended to get into a position to deny the goal his report should indicate that as the reason for the caution, not the illegal entry! The substitute can only be guilty of one thing at a time, entering [USB] or USB to stop the goal because they happened at the same time and as the same act. Should the referee have the opinion this person was guilty of some other act that warranted a caution on its own merit he would deal with that event as a separate issue and send-off the person for a second caution in the same match. The restart of play is indirect where the ball was when play was stopped.

The player off the field, at the referee's direction, who enters without permission can only be guilty of entering without permission. Unless he is guilty of another specific act qualifying as cautionable or as sending-off. If a player is sent-off he is not replaced and his side is down a player

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The following questions were asked as a follow up to the above question...

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