What would your club do in this situation???

[adelaidepie]

Hello all,

Just thought I would ask a general question on what would your club do in this situation. On Sunday a girl from our club came off the field not feeling well. Hadn't taken a knock just unwell. Then following few minutes of this girl coming off the situation turned into a serious one as the girl collapsed and stopped breathing.

Two young players from the club administered first aid and actually had to perform CPR. Meanwhile the game was still being played. As it became obvious to all that the situation was of a serious nature and major concerns were for the girls health, the club asked the ref to stop the game and seek help from the opposition team because there was a belief that one of the players may have a better medical qualification, and this proved to be correct.

Our player was stabilised while awaiting the ambulance to attend and many thanks goes to the opposition player who assisted in this situation.

My question to all formities is this;

During the stoppage our coach approached the opposition coach and asked if the game could be postponed to another day due to the seriousness of the situation and the time the game had been stopped. It is alleged the opposition coach was not willing to do this and our coach was informed by the ref play or forfeit. Again it is alleged that the oppostion coach stated we have had players carried off and taken to hospital and have had to continue.

My concern / thoughts are that no injury is a good injury and anyone getting carried off and taken to hospital would be concerning to all players, however someone having to receive CPR to me is another level and the game could have been stopped at this stage. Credit to both teams as they continued the game, but one does not need a degree to see that players from our team were coming off at times in a distressed nature.

So for me when does a game get 'called off due to the seriousness of the situation'?

I understand the oppostions coaches stance and not having a go but more the thought when should the ref see the light and call the game and or what would your club do?

Cheers

Adelaidepie Julian

[Easy Tiger]

I guess you can always forfeit...but the ref as far as I know is the only one that can call the game off, it doesn't matter what the coaches say.

Is the girl ok now?
Hope so

[adelaidepie]

Hello Easy Tiger.

Yes the girl is home from hospital and doing ok.

I agree with you about the ref being the only one. I suppose I would be interested to know what, if any, directions the refs may have received from the FFSA regarding 'serious issues' during a game!

I also understand that this is probably a one off, however there would be 'other items' which may come under this umberella.

Still the main thing is the player is ok.

I'm just curious what other people think, believe etc. Topic for discussion that was all.

[adam]

was a very surreal experience to witness...

i think the right decision was made... the girl concerned was back with it before the game was re-started and the ambulance was not far away, although it seemed to take forever to get there... it would have been hard for the girls team-mates to focus on the game, but i thought they did a great job...

but the main point i think is how important it was to have people trained in CPR... the two girls did an amazing and inspiring act... as did the paramedic from the other team...

i thought the situation was handled amazingly well by all involved...

[The Boss]

From the FIFA rules.

Dealing with Injured Players

Referees must follow the instructions below when dealing with injured players:
• Play is allowed to continue until the ball is out of play if a player is, in his opinion, only slightly injured.
• Play is stopped if, in his opinion, a player is seriously injured.
• After questioning the injured player, the referee authorises one, or at most two doctors, to enter the field to ascertain the type of injury and to arrange the player’s safe and swift removal from the field.
• The stretcher-bearers should enter the field with a stretcher at the same time as the doctors to allow the player to be removed as soon as possible.
• The referee ensures an injured player is safely removed from the field of play.
• A player is not allowed to be treated on the field.
• Any player bleeding from a wound must leave the field of play. He may not return until the referee is satisfied that the bleeding has stopped. A player cannot wear clothing with blood on it.
• As soon as the referee has authorised the doctors to enter the field, the player must leave the field, either on the stretcher or on foot. If a player does not comply he is cautioned for unsporting behaviour.
• An injured player may only return to the field of play after the match has restarted.
• An injured player may only re-enter the field from the touch line when the ball is in play. When the ball is out of play, the injured player may re-enter from any of the boundary lines.
• The referee alone is authorised to allow an injured player to re-enter the field, whether the ball is in play or not.
ADDITIONAL INSTRUCTIONS FOR REFEREES, ASSISTANT REFEREES AND FOURTH OFFICIALS
79
• If play has not otherwise been stopped for another reason, or if an injury suffered by a player is not the result of a breach of the Laws of the Game, the referee restarts play with a dropped ball.
• The referee allows for the full amount of time lost through injury to be played at the end of each period of play.
Exceptions
Exceptions to this ruling are made only:
• for injury to a goalkeeper;
• when a goalkeeper and an outfield player have collided and need immediate attention;
• when a severe injury has occurred e.g. swallowed tongue, concussion,
broken leg etc.

In this case, the referee could have classed this injury as an exception to the general rule.

[Dr.D]

Hi Boss,
I believe the exceptions with respect to goalkeepers and serious situations relates to the amount of time the Trainer or Medical person can spend on the field with the injured player. Obviously if a player is concust or unconscious they cannot leave the field of play to receive treatment, likewise a Goalkeeper can never be asked to leave the field of play to receive treatment an the Trainer can take as much time with them as reasonable (determined by the ref).

I think in this instance because the player was able to leave the field of play prior to needing special medical attention that there is no exception as per the rule stated above.

If she had collapsed in the middle of the field and remained there until the ambulance had arrived maybe you could argue the exception, however from reading the above post, it doesn't appear that the exception applies to calling of the game.

I have seen a game where the Goalkeeper snapped his leg in two with the bone protruding through the skin. He was stretchered off to a safe place behind the goals to await the ambulance, he was replaced by another player and the game continued on while the paramedics came and collected him from the side of the field, so one could argue there is precendence to carry on with the game.

Hope the young lady is recovering well.

[Pao FC]

seriously i wouldnt of given a toss if the game had to be postponed, somebodies life was under threat! If u dont mind me askin which game was this? if it wasnt a prems game then heck why the hell didnt they stop the damn game!

[Dr.D]

seriously i wouldnt of given a toss if the game had to be postponed, somebodies life was under threat! If u dont mind me askin which game was this? if it wasnt a prems game then heck why the hell didnt they stop the damn game!

Pao they did stop the game so that another player who was a qualified paramedic could give life saving treatment until the ambulance arrived.

The question is, should the game have been postponed at this stage (after the ambulance left) because presumably the delay in the game was reasonably significant, or should the game have been re-started as it was....

Once the player was with the ambulance she was safe and in good hands, while it is hard to get your head back in the space after something like this, the saying goes "the show must go on" - It doesn't matter at what level you play, whether its prems or another level. As long as there is no risk to the remaining players health then i can't see any reason why the game shouldn't have continued.

[John Cena]

what team were you guys playing, as how the hell can a match result be more important than someones life????the other coach should win tosser of the year award

[Pao FC]

seriously i wouldnt of given a toss if the game had to be postponed, somebodies life was under threat! If u dont mind me askin which game was this? if it wasnt a prems game then heck why the hell didnt they stop the damn game!

Pao they did stop the game so that another player who was a qualified paramedic could give life saving treatment until the ambulance arrived.

The question is, should the game have been postponed at this stage (after the ambulance left) because presumably the delay in the game was reasonably significant, or should the game have been re-started as it was....

Once the player was with the ambulance she was safe and in good hands, while it is hard to get your head back in the space after something like this, the saying goes "the show must go on" - It doesn't matter at what level you play, whether its prems or another level. As long as there is no risk to the remaining players health then i can't see any reason why the game shouldn't have continued.

Ahh k yea but still i think the players wulda been shaken up, i say if the team was feeling freaked out and wanted to compromise with the opposition wouldnt there be some understanding. I really think its up to both teams and players tbh.....if you guys wanted to play on then go ahead or vice versa. geeezzz that musta been awful experiance though. as long as shes ok thats all that matters

[Angela Porcu]

I don't believe the match should have been postponed unless the referee has deemed the pitch unsafe, which I don't think was the case here. As someone else put it above, she was in an ambulance (ie. in good hands).

Without knowing the full story we can't assume the opposition coach considered three points more important than someone's life. Players get injured all the time and the game goes on.

[BillShankly]

what team were you guys playing, as how the hell can a match result be more important than someones life????the other coach should win tosser of the year award

Toros were playing against Flinders.

[rooboy1986]

Play on...

Certainly feel for the young lass who was in a bit of trouble but it appears everything was handled correctly.

If the coach felt that he wanted to forfeit the match that was his decision to make, however i do not see a reason for the ref to abandon this match.

Good luck to the girl.

[on the side]

I think the opposition club should have agreed to postpone the game, im sure the girls were stressed out and concerned. When you are talking about soccer, females think differently! not saying men would not have cared if that happened to one of their team mates but females are more emotional etc. The club that had the player injured could have agreed to play the re-match game at the oppositon club's home ground at a time suitable for them so as not to inconvenience them etc. just my opinion.

A team mate collapsing and needing CPR is very scary, on or off the pitch. Glad to hear she is okay.

[southern]

I'm not sure if the 2 coaches want to postpone and the ref doesn't think that the game should be called off if that's an option...Does anyone know? I reckon that the coaches can't really tell the ref what they want to do...

[on the side]

yeah i think at the end of the day it is the ref's call, but if both teams and coaches are happy to that might sway the ref's decision...

[Flame83]

Firstly, please dont try to blame the Flinders coach for the game continuing, as it was not really his decision to make. However, he did ask all our players if they wanted to continue and as a team it was decided that we didnt want to postpone. The ambulance had been called and our player who is a paramedic said that she would be ok and was conscious so why would we need to postpone?
When our coach informed the other coach and the Ref we wouldnt be postponing it then becomes up to them to make the decision. The other coach could have forfeited the game (if he was really worried about his teams welfare) or the if the ref decided it was in the best interest of the game he could have postponed.

Some of you may or may not be aware that last week we actually had 2 goalkeepers taken away by ambulances and we never even thought to postpone the game. I understand that the situation in this game was particularly serious but that is why we have qualified referees, to deal with any situation that may arise.

[Super_Trooper]

Being a player who has broken their leg during the game while on the pitch... I wanted to come off asap to let the game continue and if the game has been postponed or forfeited on the count of my injury I would not have been happy...

... With that being said I am a bit crazy...!!!

Nothing sounds better then screaming Go City while being doped up on pethadene and being wheeled by the ambos out of the old Adel. City clubrooms (RIP)

[Dr.D]

Being a player who has broken their leg during the game while on the pitch... I wanted to come off asap to let the game continue and if the game has been postponed or forfeited on the count of my injury I would not have been happy...

... With that being said I am a bit crazy...!!!

Nothing sounds better then screaming Go City while being doped up on pethadene and being wheeled by the ambos out of the old Adel. City clubrooms (RIP)

Well said Super Trooper! Living up to your name there!

Good discussion forumites, lots of interesting point of views being shared for adelaidepie

[Angela Porcu]

No doubt Jules will take it all in his stride.

[adelaidepie]

Flame 83.

Firstly I did try and post an impartial call on this incident and not name team or coaches so I hope you don't think I am pointing the finger at anyone in particular. Second as said by someone else a broken leg / hip is not in the same league as cpr on a player whether on or off the pitch.

My point for bringing this subject up is, one to point out how the game has and is changing by the way people are becoming more serious, not saying this is good or bad just a point. Second I'm concerned as to what, if any instructions are being given to refs in relations to incidents like this?

I believe that there is a fine line for refs on when they can or can't postpone games I'm just hoping that all on them are on the same page, that all have the same instructions and that with an incident like this that the ref didn't just continue the game because they may later have felt pressure for calling the game off. Again I'm not saying the ref would of felt pressure from anyone but I wonder whether that was in the back of the refs mind or even if the FFSA has covered something like this, and if not then maybe they should be.

I want this situation to be viewed and lessens learned by all on what is the correct proceedure and or when do you say enough is enough?

Interesting that allegedly the ref calls a game off due to problems with a coach or something and this is ok but if a team has a serious incident like this some seem to think that playing on is accecptable!

PS What did go down on the gardens game on the weekend and why has that topic been pulled?

All comments are good and hopefully a common ground can be found but bette still lets hope an incident like this never happens again to any team.

Adelaidepie julian