Question Number: 24123

Law 1- The Field 10/10/2010

RE: Rec Under 14

Joe Cartelli of Bel AIr, MD USA asks...

Can a coach enter the field of play during the game, to coach his players rather than from the side lines?

I have a fellow rec coach who says that he likes to coach with one foot on the field of play. I have told him that this can be a bit of a distraction and that coaches need to stand back about ten feet from the field of play. He has told me that '...while this may be true, no penalty has ever been charged to a coach for this type of behavior.'

Answer provided by Referee Gary Voshol

The answer to this can be found on page 60 of the Laws (I&G section), under the title 'Extra persons on the field of play':
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If a team official enters the field of play:
- the referee must stop play (although not immediately if the team official does not interfere with play or if the advantage can be applied)
- the referee must have him removed from the field of play and if his behaviour is irresponsible, the referee must expel him from the field of play and its immediate surroundings
- if the referee stops the match, he must restart play with a dropped ball from the position of the ball when the match was stopped, unless play was stopped inside the goal area, in which case the referee drops the ball on the goal area line parallel to the goal line at the point nearest to where the ball was located when play was stopped
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So perhaps your friend has never been caught. If he wishes to risk being dismissed (equivalent to a red card for a player), he can continue his behavior. It's also likely that he is interfering with the assistant referee from time to time - either getting in the AR's way or preventing him from seeing down the line.

Answer provided by Referee Michelle Maloney

I've had coaches like that in games where I was the AR. Because they are always in the way when I look down the line to see which team gets the throw-in, I've tried (with some success) warning them once that I'd hate to miss a call in their favor because I can't see the line with them on it. Then if the call goes against them, they do tend to move away for a little while. About the only thing that keeps them off the line short of running over them accidentally, is if the groundskeeper paints a dashed line parallel to the touchline and about 3 feet away. I love those fields!

In a rec league, unfortunately, there isn't often much enforcement of the requirement that coaches (and other team personnel) remain completely off the field unless beckoned on by the referee. And, since many of the coaches at this level have little knowledge or experience with the game, you will see a lot of it. It is not normally as cynical as the coach you describe, but it will result in many missed calls by ARs, usually to the coach's detriment.