Is there a referee above the referee? 

My sixteen-year-old son plays for an amateur club. Last Sunday, during a junior league match, an opponent tackled him with his feet first, leg outstretched, when he was no longer in a position to play the ball. The result: a fracture and several months out of action. The referee only showed a yellow card, deeming the challenge clumsy rather than malicious. The opposing club tells us that «that’s football, these things happen» and that the referee made his decision on the pitch. Is there anything else we can do? 

P. 

No, the story doesn’t end when the whistle blows. 

On a football pitch, every player does indeed tacitly accept the risks of the game: physical contact, falls, and legal tackles. But this acceptance ceases as soon as a rule protecting the players’ physical integrity is seriously breached. The Federal Court ruled on this in a case similar to the one you describe: the referee’s assessment of the facts is not binding on the judge, as the seriousness of an offence is a matter of law; consequently, a yellow card does not prejudge the criminal classification in any way. Article 125 of the Criminal Code (CC), which criminalises causing bodily harm through negligence, therefore applies even where a minor sporting sanction has been imposed. 

A fracture is, in principle, a serious injury, and proceedings are initiated automatically, without any time limit for filing a complaint. If the injury is less serious, a complaint must be filed within three months (Art. 31 of the Swiss Criminal Code). 

The same reasoning applies in civil law: beyond normal risk, a fault gives rise to the liability of the person at fault under Article 41 of the Swiss Code of Obligations (CO) for costs not covered by insurance. The other party is personally liable if they have the capacity to discern within the meaning of Article 16 of the Civil Code (CC), which is acquired at the age of sixteen. In practice, family liability insurance often provides compensation. 

At World Cup level, it is the Court of Arbitration for Sport (CAS), the supreme judicial body for world sport based in Lausanne, that would have the final say. It applies its own famous ‘field of play’ doctrine : A match is never replayed, unless it can be proven that the referee cheated or acted in bad faith – evidence that is almost impossible to provide in the heat of the moment. A disallowed goal or a yellow card rather than a red card therefore remains – in practice – final. 

Ask for the referee’s report and a medical certificate: it will be up to the judge – not an amateur referee or a sports tribunal – to have the final say on the severity of the tackle your son suffered. 

In amateur football, the referee blows the whistle for a foul, but a judge can review the decision. In the World Cup, even Strasbourg – which has only half-heartedly recognised the legitimacy of the CAS – lets the referee have the final say. So let’s hope that the referee on Sunday morning shows some leniency towards the Nati on their path to the trophy, and happy summer holidays to you all!