It's not often I acknowledge an individual team's success in this column but I would like to congratulate Reading Schools Under 15 team, for reaching the semi-finals of the English Schools FA national tournament.
Their last two games in the competition, have both had some high drama for the referees involved. In their match against Exeter, Reading were leading 2-1 with two minutes to go, when the floodlights failed. I am told that the two sides got together to decide what to do. Reading of course, hoped the score would stand but Exeter, not unnaturally, felt they would have had a chance of pulling the goal back.
I'm not sure why they discussed it or why the referee got involved. The law demands two halves of equal length and on abandonments it says, 'An abandoned match is replayed unless the competition rules provide otherwise'. You can't shorten a match once it's started. When a referee abandons a match for any reason, players always ask him, 'will the result stand?' but it is absolutely nothing to do with the referee. It is up to the competition to decide, under their rules, otherwise it is automatically replayed. It doesn't matter what the score was or how long there was to go.
As it turned out, I understand sufficient lights came on to enable the game to be completed safely, with Reading maintaining their one goal advantage.
In their quarter-final against Aldershot at Palmer Park tracks, there was another dramatic incident. Four minutes before the end of the first half, an Aldershot player was seriously injured. He was so badly hurt that he couldn't be moved from his prone position on the field of play and an ambulance had to be called to take him to hospital.
The referee decided that as this would take a long time, rather than have the rest of the players hang about on a cold winter's evening, he took them back to the warmth of the dressing room. What happened when they returned, after about half an hour, to re-start the game, was interesting. They played the remaining four minutes of the first half and then turned straight round without an interval to play the second half.
This was obviously something the referee had agreed with the two teams for the law says, 'players are entitled to an interval'. Many referees have found themselves at a ground like Prospect Park, where the dressing rooms are a hike away, on a cold or wet day, when clubs have been happy to turn straight round. The irony is, that if one player alone wants a break, the referee has to allow one. What the law doesn't say though, is how long the interval should be.
For years beyond recall there was a maximum of five minutes. In 1995 this was increased to fifteen minutes. Sceptic that I am, I've always believed that this was to accommodate more adverts at televised matches. The other thing
at professional games is that a longer interval gives the home club the opportunity to sell more food and drink.
Last year the German FA put forward on behalf of one of its clubs, a suggestion to the International FA Board meeting which discusses changes to the laws, that the interval should be extended to twenty minutes. The reason was that the club was losing money and thought extra half-time sales may save it. It was rejected because it was solely for commercial reasons.
Competitions are allowed to set their own interval length, providing it doesn't exceed fifteen minutes. In most cases locally, the limit is set at ten minutes as it was for the Reading boys matches. I think to ignore it, as the referee did at the Reading-Aldershot game, was eminently sensible and I offer him my congratulations as well.
Dick
Sawdon Smith