Out of interest ke5238 were the staff being paid to marshal for you or when you say volunteer, were they there for free? If they were being paid, they are technically at work so I would anticpate the need to do a RIDDOR as fractures are a specified injury (unless to toes, thumbs or fingers), as per HSE '....the accident is work-related[1] and  it results in an injury of a type which is reportable'.

If they were a member of the public or someone not at work, RIDDOR requires accidents to be reported '..... if they result in an injury and the person is taken directly from the scene of the accident to hospital for treatment to that injury. Examinations and diagnostic tests do not constitute ‘treatment’ in such circumstances'.

Logic would place voluntary workers in the “persons at work” bracket but I do remember reading at some point (but can't find the reference now) that HSE say: “For the purposes of reporting under RIDDOR a worker would be a person under a contract of employment. As this is unlikely to be the case for most volunteers, they should be classed as members of the public when it comes to reporting.” In other words a volunteer should be regarded as a “person not at work”.

At one point the HSE had a publication called "Charity and Voluntary Workers - A Guide to Health and Safety at Work" (but not sure if this still exists, I used to refer to it for voluntary work I did), but even in this the requirement to report RIDDOR accidents involving volunteers remained unclear although their "Good practice" guidance, recommended the reporting of RIDDOR accidents to volunteers as if they were 'employees', whilst stating within the narrative that this is the case.

Not sure this helps you, but could you perhaps do a RIDDOR report and make clear in the narrative somewhere that they were a volunteer and not being paid (assuming they weren't)? I don't think the fact that there is confusion over how it happened (i.e. when they were having a kick around or when they were walking across the grass) is relevant, as they were there because they were volunteering for you.

When I've queried with HSE in the past about reporting things, they have generally advised report it anyway and if it's not required, they just ignore it - in other words, better safe than sorry!

Maybe there are some HSE officials on this forum that could help you out?

Edited by user 05 June 2017 14:23:20(UTC)  | Reason: Not specified

I think regardless of which story is true and regardless of whether the marshalls are classed as employees or MoP, it's not reportable.

Was the injury caused by a work activity?  From the information you've given, I would say not.

You say he/she tripped on the grass.  Did they trip over their own feet?  The ball?  If these, then this would not be reportable

If the pitch was unmaintained and was full of holes and trip hazards, then I would probably look further into it, as it may be that the condition of the "workplace" contributed towards the accident, but if they just tripped, then it looks highly unlikely that this would be a work related injury

Other posters have lots of experience in charities and volunteering related H & S, I'm sure they will be able to give an informed answer about the status of the marshall.

I think the question is - was it work-related? 

Slipping over on grass whilst walking normally is just a life event. And I rarely report sports injuries - I was once told by HSE that they only wanted to know if there was a problem with the pitch (e.g. poor maintenance) or the way the game was being played, Injuries from normal tackles, missing the ball etc weren't reportable - so I don't.