Temporary Dismissal - Macarthur District Football Referees Association

Temporary dismissals are used in all Macarthur Football Association Competitions to help reduce dissent from players toward match officials.

Junior matches (excluding SSG) up to U16: The Temporary Dismissal period is 5 minutes.
All other competitions (including M-League): The Temporary Dismissal period is 10 minutes.
Cautions for dissent (Y2) must always be accompanied by a temporary dismissal.

Only cautions for dissent (Y2) result in a temporary dismissal.
A player who is cautioned for dissent receives a yellow card and is dismissed for the specified time.
A player who receives a second yellow card (YC) will be shown a red card and must leave the match, with no replacement allowed.
Temporary dismissals are marked on the match card as Y2 cautions.
The temporary dismissal area is the team’s technical area.
Once the dismissal period has ended, the player can return with the referee’s permission (even while the ball is in play). The referee has the final say on when the player can return.

Substitutions: A temporarily dismissed player cannot be substituted until their dismissal period ends, unless the team has already used all their allowed substitutes.
End of Half: If the temporary dismissal is not completed at the end of the first half (or the second half if extra time is being played), the remaining time will be served at the start of the second half (or extra time).
Penalties: A player still serving a temporary dismissal at the end of the match is allowed to participate in kicks from the penalty mark (penalties).

If a player who is serving a temporary dismissal commits another cautionable (YC) or sending-off (RC) offence during their dismissal period:

They will take no further part in the match and cannot be replaced or substituted.