[sj]

Would an official have any potential legal liability if he allows a player to remain in the game in spite of that player having reached 5 fouls? For example after she should have been out of the game she then fouls an opponent hard and the opponent would get hurt.

Here's a long story as short as I can make it. 9th grade girls team only has 5 players. One girl is very big with no playing sense at all. She'll foul a shooter by just bringing her arms down on top of the shooter and as a result will just knock the shooter silly. Talking to her does no good. I called what I thought was the 5th foul on her but the scorer said 4. So I thought maybe I could be wrong. When I called the next one the scorer still told me 4. I knew I was right so I made her leave. (I didn't know but the coach and the scorer had agreed to try to keep her in the game.)

Later I told the coach if we kept her in after getting 5 fouls and she knocked someone down and go their head cracked open then there could be legal issues involved. (This girl would be perfectly capable of it too) I try to be a common sense guy but am I right here or am I worrying too much? Thanks.