This is probably an issue most football fans hardly think of, however it really happens. Naturally all athletes are placed on good diets and avoid a lot of junk foods so it rarely happen they have discomfort in their digestive systems during their field activities.
To be honest if it’s just a pee or urine, players can hold until halftime or the end of the game. But what will be the case if it is a nature’s call. Whoever that player is would be in trouble because on the pitch, a player has a lot of important things to do, from running, tackling, shielding and jumping. So just imagine doing all these with an uncomfortable stomach.
Some footballers were just unfortunate as in the case of Gary Lineker who shat on himself on the pitch during a worldcup match against Ireland. The former England hero revealed in a documentary that he was very desperate to leave the pitch but didn’t want to let his teammates and his country down. He was having a terrible discomfort in his stomach before the game but didn’t backed out. He scored in the match anyway but at a point in the match, he had to stretch for a ball and lost control of his bowels in the process. Indeed that would be a wired feeling.
The laws of the game of football does not permit a player to leave the pitch as the game is in progress because it’s a cautionable misconduct. This is intended to prevent footballers from unsporting departure as the game is in progress.
However, footballers who desperately want to answer an urgent nature’s call can leave the pitch but would have to alert the referee or any nearby official. Similar incident happened in 2018 in a spanish league game between Eibar and Real Madrid. Madrid have had their lead cancelled by Eibar with the scoreline being 1-1. In the 76th minutes,Sergio Ramos left the pitch after informing one official discreetly. He went missing for close to 10 minutes before returning later. In that time Ronaldo had scored again to make the scoreline 1-2. Zidane was asked after the match why Sergio left the field. And bluntly he said ” I think Sergio had to take a shit, he went to the toilet and returned in a minute”. How commanding a nature’s call can be.
Referees will treat such departures just as he allows a player with a torn uniform to go and get it changed. The referee would signal a player to enter the pitch as soon as possible even if play is in progress when he is back.
Again, it will be highly unsporting and offensive for a player to defecate on the pitch, unless it was severely involuntary the player would be cautioned.