Soccer question

The Game Room
1

I know almost nothing about soccer/football, but in advance of the upcoming comprehensive NBC coverage of English Premier League in the US I’m interested in learning more about the sport.

I was watching a match (May 2012 Manchester City vs QPR), and it seemed that at one point medics delivered a roll of tape to one of the goalkeepers, which he proceeded to use to tape up a couple of fingers, all while the ball was still in play - did I see that right? Was it because his medical issue (such as it was) was not serious enough to stop play, but he could elect to deal with it (while play continued) at his discretion? And if an attack on the goal suddenly came his way while he was messing around with the tape…?

Forgive me if this is a noob question about a minor point, but it really got me wondering - Thanks…

2

I haven’t seen the play in question, but that wouldn’t be out of the ordinary. If the oother team started an attack, he and the trainer would probably tear off the tape and he’d deal with any shots, then finish wrapping his hand as needed. It’s definitely a position that can lead to minor hand injuries.

You’ll often see outfield players who get dinged up being removed from the field, then being treated with tape, magic spray, and massages before going back in at the referee’s discretion, with play continuing down a man all the while.