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April 13

Why don't football (soccer) players leave the field in a stretcher anymore?

Check out this perplexing story today. A football (soccer) player is carried by TWO teammates off the field before leaving in a stretcher.[1] This epitomizes a trend no doubt others have noticed. Even players with no hopes of returning to play will limp and struggle to leave the field instead of being comfortably and safely carried off. Why? 68.174.155.22 (talk) 21:54, 13 April 2023 (UTC)[reply]

The article you linked indicates he was taken from the sidelines to the clubhouse on a stretcher. ←Baseball Bugs ^{What's up, Doc?} carrots→ 22:20, 13 April 2023 (UTC)[reply]

Pay attention, please. The question was about how he got to the sidelines. --174.89.12.187 (talk) 23:15, 13 April 2023 (UTC)[reply]

You seem much less stupid than I am, so how about you try to answer the OP's question? ←Baseball Bugs ^{What's up, Doc?} carrots→ 23:50, 13 April 2023 (UTC)[reply]

You think it was faster for him to be transferred to a stretcher off the field instead of being taken straight from the field to the dressing room? 68.174.155.22 (talk) 01:20, 14 April 2023 (UTC)[reply]

The article you linked indicates he was helped off the field by teammates, not "limping and struggling" by himself. Also, your core premise is that they used to bring stretchers onto the field, yes? But how do you know that your core premise is accurate? And maybe they've calculated that helping someone to the sideline is faster than bringing a stretcher out, in general, so they can resume play as soon as possible. ←Baseball Bugs ^{What's up, Doc?} carrots→ 23:56, 13 April 2023 (UTC)[reply]

The question is this. It used to be the case that injured players were carried off on a stretcher – comfortably and safely. This practice has become highly unusual. What occasioned this change? --Lambiam 02:45, 14 April 2023 (UTC)[reply]

How much extra time did that add to a match? ←Baseball Bugs ^{What's up, Doc?} carrots→ 04:40, 14 April 2023 (UTC)[reply]

There's a FIFA Treatment of Injuries Guidance document (undated; a pdf document, so I can't link to it) which states that:

"After stopping play for a serious injury or when recognising the need for medical attention to a player the Referee authorises up to two medical representatives to enter the field of play to assess the injury only and arrange for the player’s safe and swift removal from the field of play"
"The stretcher-bearers should enter the field of play only after receiving a signal from the referee."

...

"As soon as the Referee has authorised the doctors to enter the field, the player must leave the field, either on the stretcher or on foot."

So there's apparently no rule that says they can't be stretchered off. Clarityfiend (talk) 12:31, 14 April 2023 (UTC)[reply]

And indeed they sometimes are, as this long-time European soccer watcher occasionally sees.

That said, the procedures have somewhat altered in recent years, because sports injury treatment protocols, as in many sports, have become more rigorous. Where once a couple of random bods would run on with two poles and a piece of canvas, dump the player on said equipment, and run off (occasionally dropping the player halfway), now trained medical staff will carefully assess the player in situ and provide any immediately required treatment, and then ensure they are removed carefully and appropriately. Stretchers are now much more elaborate, being often made of several plastic components that can be fitted together around the player, offering a variety of support modes for various injuries, and requiring 4 lifters: a motorised conveyance may also be brought onfield to transport it. A player still needing a stretcher after several minutes of on-field attention will likely have a fairly serious injury, which is thankfully rare.

As for an uninjured player limping off by themself; the player will know to what extent they can move without worsening thier injury, and may want to enable play to continue as quickly as possibly because, for example, their team is behind and needs as much time as possible (with their fresh substitute on the field) to try to equalise, or is playing well and may lose its 'flow' if too long delayed. {The poster formerly known as 87.81.230.195} 90.213.18.208 (talk) 18:49, 14 April 2023 (UTC)[reply]

The player I posted originally is now confirmed to be out for the rest of the season, so a light injury this was not (as the original article guessed correctly).[2] Again, wanting to get on the field quicker does not explain why players are usually not carried off even when a stretcher has been brought onto the field nowaddays. 68.174.155.22 (talk) 00:48, 15 April 2023 (UTC)[reply]

Perhaps this is the reason why they don't use stretchers as much anymore: [3], [4], [5], [6]? Maineartists (talk) 01:05, 15 April 2023 (UTC)[reply]

Whatever happened to the magic sponge? DuncanHill (talk) 01:08, 15 April 2023 (UTC)[reply]

Someone's already posted about the advances in stretcher technology. Also, it doesn't explain why players who need a stretcher (like the one I posted about) don't use one. I askk again, why did two players carry their teammate off only to have the teammate placed on a stretcher anyway? 68.174.155.22 (talk) 13:12, 15 April 2023 (UTC)[reply]

This appears to be the procedures for dealing with injuries on the field of play. If that procedure was not followed, we have no information why. Sometimes, people just decide to do something different. --Jayron 32 14:07, 17 April 2023 (UTC)[reply]