A Peruvian league match and an attack has just ended with the GK taking possession of the ball only to suddenly fall down holding his head. Watch for yourselves. Backpass? Wtf happened to the keeper? Why didn't the referee stop play? Is the attacker being unsporting?
Sorry, referee blew that one big time: - Keeper is down, holding his head - Play is right at the keeper - BLOW THE DAM WHISTLE
So heatstroke, would have thought that the keeper should have had a bit more warning than just suddenly fall down in a heap. But yea I agree with NHRef, why didn't the referee stop play?
I've told a war story before, which involved billf, where we both knew the keeper had simulated contact with the knee of an attacker in an attempt to waste time and get the opponent sent off. Nevertheless, once he dropped the ball from his possession and started clutching his head on the ground in the goal area (the height of stupidity, but it still happened), we had no choice but to blow the play dead. Allowing an attacker to kick the ball into the open net, even though we were 99.9% sure the keeper was faking, just wasn't an option. If the keeper appears injured, particularly from a head injury, you blow the play dead. You can deal with anything else, including potential misconduct and figuring out the restart, once play is stopped. But nothing good is going to come of allowing a goal to be scored in a situation like this.
It does seem a little unlikely that a keeper would risk having a dropped ball in his own penalty area on purpose. Then again, that assumes he knows the rules. I don't understand why the referee would not stop play here, though. If a keeper is on the ground, holding his head, and the ball pops loose, you stop play, period.
I think, what is just as concerning is that after the goal, the ref turns and starts jogging up field like the keeper isn't lying on the ground clutching his head.
The only thing I can figure is that the ref had looked up-field and had no idea how the ball came loose and just assumed the GK was on the ground as part of the play -- but you can see the AR watching the whole thing. Bizarre.
There's no way the referee could have known that this was only heat exhaustion. My first thought was that the keeper was having either a heart attack, seizure, or stroke. When a player goes down without a challenge, you have to assume the worst. Don't even wait for the keeper to release the ball. Stop the game and get the medical staff on the field immediately! Had the referee done his job, we wouldn't be talking about anyone's sportsmanship.
What if the GK is faking something, and you blow the whistle and he pops right up? Ok card the keeper and restart with IDK..then run like hell when the other team chases you off the pitch. I am not a doctor.
A GK holding the ball falls down and let the ball roll out his hands onto the field . . . faking it? What conceivable reason could he have to fake that?!?
Perhaps he thinks he's about to be called for a backpass and needs to fake injury... I can sympathize with the referee in that if I see this, I'm going to be wondering wtf is going on and may not be of the mindset that the keeper is injured, but instead faking for some reason... Not to say that the referee did right, but it's true that we are not doctors and players laying on the ground in the modern game is not a site that automatically triggers a thought of injury anymore...
I was referring to after the goal. He whistles, points, and is off to the races headed back to the middle.
If someone goes down without a challenge holding their head, and i don't know if they're faking it, i'd rather be fooled and caution the player, than be "on to his tricks" and watch him die.
See my post above. I've explained this incident before. Happened to me and billf. Attacker half-heartedly lunged in, attempting to get a rebound, but goalkeeper held the ball and attacker pulled up. No contact made between attacker and goalkeeper. But the goalkeeper was up 1-0 in a Regional semifinal. He decided to fake contact in the hopes of getting the attacker sent off and/or wasting time. When neither me nor my AR (@billf, who was looking right at it and saw daylight--maybe a full yard--between the players) bit on his acting job, he went for the gold and released the ball to the ground, clutching his face in pain. Blew the whistle to stop play before the attack could kick the ball into the open net. Consulted with billf to make sure we were 100% on the same page (we were), then cautioned the keeper and restarted with an IFK going in. Strangest incident I've ever encountered in a high-level game.
Not exactly the same thing, but I had an O-50 men's game in which a goalkeeper made a save, about at the penalty spot. Easy, two hands, chest high, no problem. Everybody turns and heads back up field. I'm back peddling, too, when the keeper says, "Ref, come here." I'm thinking, WTF? I mean, why would a goalkeeper want me to come see him, while he's standing there, holding the ball, with no one around him and no controversy of any kind? How is he going to get some advantage from this? Better that I go over there. He says to me, "My heart's racing and I can't get it to slow down." WHOA!!!!!!!!!! Does anybody know the number for 911? I stopped play, of course, and his teammates came over and helped him off the field. They only had 12 guys, so the sub had to come in and be the goalkeeper. Meanwhile, they propped him up on the sidelines, with his feet up on his bag and LEFT HIM THERE!!!! "Yeah, this happens to him every now and then." Okay, I'm not a doctor or his mother, but, really???? I guess they did know best, because he actually came back into the game in the second half!
The player did nothing wrong. You always play to the whistle. Fault les solely with the officiating crew.