A. Law 7 states the following
Allowance is made in either period for all time lost through
a) Substitution(s)
b) Assessment of injuries to players
c) Removal of injured players from the field of play for treatment
d) Wasting time
e) any other cause
There is no official line of 30 seconds per substitute, it is simply up to the referee to stop his watch, as in all the stoppages referred to. The referee, who is the sole timekeeper, usually signals the minimum amount of time remaining to the fourth official by indicating the minutes remaining after the regulated 45 by the number of fingers down the shorts. Sometimes, if near enough this will be transmitted by word of mouth. The fourth official must convey this message on exactly 45 minutes of course during 'additional time' there could still be substitutes, injuries etc., which will extend the time even further.
You may enquire about "any other cause". Included in this could be injury to a match official, lost ball in the crowd, repair to an appurtenance (including goal nets), remarking the penalty mark on a muddy pitch after a penalty kick has been awarded, an animal on the pitch, a streaker, and removal of any item thrown on the pitch.

2. Q During a league match, immediately after the kick off a team captain complains to the referee that an opponent is drunk. What action should the referee take?

A. Referees should always exercise extreme care in their choice of words to describe players who may be under the influence of alcohol or drugs, especially in connection with drug influence. In such circumstances, the matter should be considered as a team responsibility and suitable attention be drawn to a club official, perhaps suggesting that a player was too ill to continue/participate or seemed to have a problem.

3. Q By law players are required to leave the field of play to obtain treatment (except in the case of a head injury), where after he should seek permission to re-enter the field of play. The question is, to what level of competition is the law applied.

A. The wording of Law 5 is straight forward:
The Referee
a) stops the match if, in his opinion, a player is seriously injured and ensures that he is removed from the field of play
b) allows play to continue until the ball is out of play if a player is, in his opinion only slightly injured.
c) ensures that any player bleeding from a wound leaves the field of play. The player may only return on receiving a signal from the referee, who must be satisfied that the bleeding has stopped.
It is accepted that most injuries to goalkeepers are treated on the field of play in order to save time, when had he left the field of play, another team mate would have had to change places with the original goalkeeper, only to be replaced by the original goalkeeper very soon afterwards. In these circumstances, it is also permissible for any other player , injured at the same time as the goalkeeper, to be treated on the field of play with no need to leave after treatment. This applies to all levels of competitions.

4. Q. Is it true that a goalkeeper must wear long sleeves that are of a different colour to the teams playing in order that the referee can identify if it is the goalkeeper or not who punches a ball during a goal mouth frenzy?

A.There is nothing in the Laws of the Game stating a goalkeeper must wear a long sleeved jumper. However, it is stated that each goalkeeper must wear colours which distinguish him from the other players, the referee and the assistant referees.

5.Q In a cup game that is to be decided by taking of kicks from the penalty mark, can the referee toss a coin to determine which goal is to be used if there is a dispute between managers and players? Can the referee then toss again which will determine that the winner will take the first kick?

A. In the Laws of Association Football it is stated that the referee chooses the goal at which the kicks from the penalty mark to decide the result of a match are to be taken from. He alone decides and there is no tossing of a coin to satisfy managers.
It is also stated " the referee tosses a coin and the captain who wins the toss takes the first kick". There is no advice issued on which end to use. However, common sense should prevail, i.e. ground conditions, location of spectators etc..

6. Q. During the taking of a penalty kick a team mate of the kicker, outside the penalty area, moved in advance of the ball Decision please ? Secondly, what is the decision if the ball rebounded from the goal posts or goalkeeper to that same player?

A. If a team mate of the player taking the kick enters the penalty area or moves in front of, or within 9.15 metres of the penalty mark, the referee allows the kick to proceed. If the ball enters the goal, then the kick is retaken. If the ball does not enter the goal the kick is not retaken. If the ball rebounds from the goalkeeper, crossbar, or goal post and is touched by this player the referee stops play and restarts the match with an indirect free kick to the defending team. Should the ball miss the goal then the game is started with a goal kick.

7. Q. I would be grateful if you could provide some reasoning behind Law 17, corner kicks taken by the goalkeeper. "If a goalkeeper runs over 100 yards to take a corner kick, then kicks the ball back into his own penalty area and handles the ball an indirect free kick is awarded". Surely there is no need for special instructions for a goalkeeper taking a corner kick as once he leaves his penalty area he is treated like any other outfield player.

A. Whilst you are correct in stating that once a goalkeeper leaves his own penalty area he is treated the same as any other player, this additional clause clarifies the matter on him returning to his own penalty area, and then playing the ball a second time with his hands. If an outfield player did exactly the same this would be handball and a penalty kick awarded, but as the goalkeeper, he is permitted to use his hands in his own penalty area, hence an indirect free kick.

8. Q. I watched a game of football yesterday in the Bedford and District League, and the referee awarded a direct free kick just outside the penalty area, when a defender said something to the official, and he moved the ball forward 10 yards, is this possible?

A. The advancement of ten yards (9.15m) is only permissible in this country in the FA Premier League, Football League and FA Cup matches from the 1st round proper. This is still at an experimental stage for FIFA, and requires a law change to be effective in all classes of football.

9. Q. A club assistant referee flagged for an offside offence, but in the meantime the ball had gone into the goal. The referee gave the goal and went back to the centre circle, ignoring the assistant. Whereupon this assistant threw his flag on the ground and the referee seeing what had happened took his name and showed the red card, is this correct?

A. The referee can dispense with the services of an assistant referee if he feels that person has committed misconduct or not acted in accordance with the instructions given to him prior to the game, or the laws of the game. The red and yellow cards can only be shown to players and substitutes. However, the whole affair would be reported to the appropriate authority.

10. Q. After twenty minutes play a referee issued a second caution to a player, but failed to send him off. The referee was told of this at half time. He delayed the restart for an extra ten minutes while he sorted it out, and started the second half without the offender. Was this the correct approach.

A. An official answer was sought of The Football Association, and John Baker replied "Page 14 of the Laws of Association Football gives the answer to your query. The first example of infringements indicates the restart is a dropped ball where play is when stopped. We believe this is correct. The referee would report the circumstances to the competition concerned and that body would decide if the game should be replayed or if the result should stand. There is no definitive decision in the Laws of the Game, or the Questions and Answers Booklet.
However, the booklet is being revised this year and I will try to get the question you asked included. We will then have an official answer from the IFAB (This may or may not be the one I have offered.)
NOTE: The person who submitted this question also sought the views of George Cumming of the IFAB who was of the that if the referee notices this early in the game he should restart the game. If later on, and unsure how long the additional player has been there, dropped ball restart, continue with the game after removing the extra player, then report to the competition for them to sort it out.