Question Number: 17160

League Specific 10/7/2007

RE: Competitive

Jan Forsythe of Lennox head, NSW Australia asks...

Q1
How far should the players bench be from the side line?

Q2 Is there a time limit for reporting incidents ie do clubs have days or one week after an incident to report it, ie can they report an incident from two and a half months ago?

Answer provided by Referee Gary Voshol

1) Far enough so that players don't interfere with the game or the assistant referee.

2) That is a league matter. In some leagues, a protest must be noted on the game sheet before leaving the field, so teams literally have only minutes to report an incident. Others may extend that. But 2 1/2 months? If it was truly important, why didn't it get reported sooner?

Answer provided by Referee Michelle Maloney

Agree with Ref Voshol 100%. Far enough = a minimum of 1 yard. You can report incidents anytime, of course. However, the longer you wait, the less likely it becomes that any action can or will be taken, and as above noted, if you wish to protest, there are always time deadlines to meet from your association. It is always best to report your concerns in writing, including a copy to the league assignor and local instructors or assessors. That way it can be evaluated, investigated and if re-teaching is required, it can be scheduled and accomplished. Be sure to include the date, the field, the time, the teams, and the name of the referee (if possible). I can't tell you how many complaints I've received where I had no way of following up because there was no date or no time or no field or no age group/division and no way to contact the complainant. Unfortunately, those got round filed.

The following questions were asked as a follow up to the above question...

See Question: 17244