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LAWS OF THE GAME Q&A

In response to various questions, the following are the responses from the National Referee Program Office:

DEALING WITH INAPPROPRIATE BEHAVIOR BY COACHES

Question:
In a follow-up question to the previous question about enforcing coaches to stay in their technical area and only convey tactical and positive messages, how does a referee go about warning the coach? Stopping play to do so draws attention to the situation and hinders the flow. But how can a referee keep one eye on the game and properly inform the coach that his behavior is inappropriate? However, if the coach has been warned and his behavior persists, stopping play would be appropriate to expel him from the game, correct? Also, should assistant referees warn coaches or get the head referee's attention so the head ref can warn them?

Answer:
Unless the matter is particularly grave, the referee would usually wait until the next stoppage. However, if the situation is indeed grave -- as any case of abuse would be -- then stopping the game and drawing attention to the matter is an excellent tool in and of itself. It sends a clear message that the referee is serious about the matter. In such cases, the referee would stop play with the ball in the possession of the abusive coach's team (if possible), advise the coach or other team official that this behavior is irresponsible and must stop if the coach or other team official wishes to remain in the vicinity of the field. If this warning is not effective, then another stoppage and the expulsion of the coach must follow. No cards, please, unless the rules of the competition require them. Also, do not engage in extended discussions when doing this in any circumstances: State the message and leave.

POSITIONING AT KICK-OFF

Question:
I realize that this is very trivial, but a U10 coach asked me (in order to properly instruct his players) about the proper positioning of players for a kick-off. Are they allowed to stand on the line or not? Law 8 states "all players are in their half of the field". Without hesitation, I said that you can treat the halfway line during a kick-off like you would a throw-in – "has part of each foot either on the touch line or ...outside the touch line," or in this case, the halfway line.

To make sure of my answer, I asked a fellow referee, who I feel is very knowledgeable about the laws of the game, but his reply was different. He said you need to look at the halfway line like offside – "any part of his head, body or feet is nearer...", in this case, the halfway line.

I then went to a third source that I felt confident about but ended up with a third opinion. In this case, they said "any part of the body, including the hands, over the halfway line would be an infringement." So, now I'm not sure what the correct response is. What does USSF have to say?

Answer:
Our first reaction was incredulity that anyone would even ask, but this was tempered by the realization that the location is a point not really covered in the instructional program. Nevertheless, after a moment of reflection, the answer came readily to mind.

Law 1 tells us: "The field of play is marked with lines. These lines belong to the areas of which they are boundaries." Therefore, if the players stand on the halfway line they are in their own half of the field. If their heads or feet are slightly over the line, it makes no difference.

NOTE: In response to another query, asking what the difference is between the required positioning for kick-offs for determining offside position at the halfway line, we responded:

Technically, if any part of a player that can legally play the ball is past the midfield line, they are in the opponent's end of the field, For offside purposes, this matters; for kick-off restarts it doesn't matter.

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