An interesting situation occurred in a recent college game. College rules do not allow unlimited substitutions whenever a player is replaced, (s)he is ineligible to return for the remainder of that period. As a result, college coaches may have limited opportunities to give second-string players game experience in close games.
The game was easy and one sided. After about 25 minutes, the referee had only called two fouls and the score was home team 5 visitors nil. The home team coach put in the entire second string. About 10 minutes later, fatigue became a factor for the visitors (who had no subs). They began to lose focus and commit silly fouls because they were a step slower. In each case, the home team retained possession and the referee called advantage.
At half time, the home coach came to the officiating team and asked us not to call advantage because he wanted his players to have the game experience of immediately putting the ball into play with a quick kick.
What would you decide?
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