Send Off at Half Time

[Footballer]

My friend was telling me how a teammate of his was "unjustly" sent off by the referee at half time while just trying to talk to him.

And he told me that his team played one man down. I thought if a send off occurred at half time, you could play 11 v 11. I mean if you send someone off before the game, you can replace that player.

Can someone offer advice?

[Gary V]

If a player - someone who was in the game at the end of the half - is send off during halftime, you play short. If it was a sub, you don't play short.

That will be a hard distinction to make in many of the youth games with unlimited substitutions and rights of reentry.

[code1390]

I saw the title and knew what it was about. I knew I saw the answer on ATR.com. But Gary beat me to it.

And Gary, I got a chuckle about all the questions you got over there on the RVN goal against Italy.

[GOOOOAL!!]

If a player - someone who was in the game at the end of the half - is send off during halftime, you play short. If it was a sub, you don't play short.

That will be a hard distinction to make in many of the youth games with unlimited substitutions and rights of reentry.

Correct.

The reasoning behind it is that the person sent off is a "player of record". To be a player of record you have to have been a player on the field when the ball is in play (plus a couple other things that don't matter much for this discussion).

Before the game, there are no players of record, only suggested players that will be beginning the game. That's why if someone gets hurt in the warmup, they can be switched without counting as a substitution. Once the ball is kicked off, then all of the players on the field become players of record.

At halftime, the players that were one the field are the players of record until the second half kickoff is taken. If a sub is made at halftime, it is not completed until the ball is put into play in the second half.

This is a little harder to remember in a youth game with unlimited subs, but the logic is the same. If they were on the field at the end of the half, the team plays short. If the player was on the bench then they get to play with 11.

[Tarheel Ref]

My friend was telling me how a teammate of his was "unjustly" sent off by the referee at half time while just trying to talk to him.

Can someone offer advice?

Without any further information, I'd be confident in guessing that there is more to that story than you got from your friend.

Having encountered similar situations...