What is your call?

[mikesears]

Just got done talking with my LJ from our game Friday night. He tells me about something that happened during the game that I wanted to ask you all about.

Here is what I saw as R.
Team A is coming to the line. Team B is a little confused about the defense. All of a sudden, I hear my substitute (and relatively new) umpire whistle and I see a B1 trying to get his chinstrap buttoned. He fiddles with it for a couple of seconds and gets it snapped. No problem. I blow the ready for play again and off we go.

Here is what my LJ saw.
Team B was really confused about what defense they were playing and player B1 INTENTIONALLY unsnapped his chin strap and went to the U with his "equipment problem". He takes a couple of seconds and finally gets the helmet snapped. Coach comments afterwards how smart his player was to unbutton his chinstrap to get some time to clear the confusion.

How would you handle this if you were the LJ?

[mbyron]

I'm curious how the LJ could determine that the act was intentional. If he's really that sure, I suppose you could call an unsportsmanlike foul on the player. Otherwise, I'd let it go.

By the time the LJ hears the coach remarking on it, isn't it too late to flag it?

[Mike L]

I'd probably tell the coach "yeah, but if he intentionally does it again you are going to draw a delay of game foul".
He better be sure about the intentional part.

[mikesears]

The player reached up, undid the properly snapped strap, then went to the umpire for the equipment timeout, and then just snapped it again. My LJ has 11 years of experience but I think the act caught him by surprise.

[kdf5]

The problem is that if you call it failure to wear required equipment, that's a delay of game penalty, the clock starts on the snap so you've actually stopped the clock for this ploy.

[Mike L]

Originally Posted by kdf5

The problem is that if you call it failure to wear required equipment, that's a delay of game penalty, the clock starts on the snap so you've actually stopped the clock for this ploy.

True, you'll have to stop the clock to adminsiter any penalty, but if the R feels they are doing it to conserve time illegally, then he could run it on the ready. Personally, I'd probably go with whatever the clock was doing at the time of the foul unless time in the half is running out & A is trying to score.
Hitting them for 15 on this seems awfully onerous.

[JugglingReferee]

B has an equipment problem. Substitution is required for this player.

[bigjohn]

Rule 9 SECTION 9 UNFAIR ACTS
ART. 1 . . . A player or nonplayer or person(s) not subject to the rules shall not
hinder play by an unfair act which has no specific rule coverage.

PENALTY: Unfair act – the referee enforces any penalty he considers equitable,
including the award of a score – (S27