Question Number: 19436

Law 5 - The Referee 6/17/2008

Kyle Kenney of Kingston, Ontario Canada asks...

Law 5 states that, any injury to a goalie means you must stop play. Happens if a goalie is hurt and an attacking team is in the box and they have an oppurtuinity to score?

or how about a goalie gets hurt by his own player?

Answer provided by Referee Gary Voshol

Law 5 says no such thing. The goalkeeper is just another player.

However, since the keeper is usually positioned in a high-traffic area of the field, the referee would be more likely to stop play quicker than if an player went down at midfield - or off the field, for that matter. This is to protect the player from being trampled.

The exemption that a goalkeeper has regarding injury is that the keeper may be treated on the field of play, if it appears that a quick treatment will allow him to continue play.

Read other questions answered by Referee Gary Voshol

View Referee Gary Voshol profile

Answer provided by Referee Keith Contarino

Where does Law 5 say this? The Laws tell us to stop play only for a serious injury. The only special mention of the keeper is that the keeper is allowed to be treated on the field.

Read other questions answered by Referee Keith Contarino

View Referee Keith Contarino profile

Answer provided by Referee Steve Montanino

Law 5 does not specify this. It merely says that the referee stops play if in his opinion a player is severly injured, but he allows play to continue if he thinks a player is only slightly injured.

Read other questions answered by Referee Steve Montanino

View Referee Steve Montanino profile