Question Number: 23348

Law 4 - Players Equipment 5/20/2010

RE: competitive Adult

bob of boston, ma us asks...

Opening kickoff is about to begin and i notice that one teams goaltender has jewelry on so i instruct him to leave the field and remove them, but then i blow the whistle to start the game before the goaltender returns to the game. What is the proper procedure in this case.

Answer provided by Referee Jason Wright

Jewelry should be managed prior to the teams finding their position on the field.

If, at this point, you notice a player is wearing jewelry then there's no reason not to wait for him to return to his position after removing the jewelry. After all, it will only take a few moments.

If it's the goalkeeper, this is even more important, because the laws of the game require the goalkeeper to be on the field. If you've started the game without the goalkeeper on the field, then the match has not started legally and the correct response is to retake the kickoff, restart your watch and remind yourself to pay attention.

Also, because the keeper's such a critical position there's nothing to be gained from starting the match before he's back in goals and ready.

Answer provided by Referee Gary Voshol

Each team must have a goalkeeper. You should have reset the game and started over once the keeper was back on the field.

Answer provided by Referee Joe McHugh

Hi Referee Bob
I always advise referees to ensure the goalkeeper is present in the goal area and ready for the KO. It has happened that referees have started games without a GK present and as a goal can be scored directly from a KO the alert opponent will try to capitalise on that chance to score. If that happens there will be a 'match control' situation to deal with. In this case my advice is to wait for the GK to return to his goals and then start the game.
If you have made an error here then stop the game and restart it again.