Team officials must stay controlled in the technical area.

How officials manage the bench

1. Check who is permitted in the technical area under the competition rules and team list.
2. Decide whether the behaviour is normal coaching, a low-level management issue, dissent, interference, or serious misconduct.
3. Use the fourth official or assistant referee's information where one is appointed, but the referee remains the final decision-maker.
4. Apply the right response: quiet management, a formal warning, a yellow card, or a red card.
5. Keep the restart separate from the disciplinary action unless play was stopped because of the bench misconduct or interference.

What the technical area is

The technical area is the defined space beside the field for a team's bench group. In stadium matches with a designated sitting area, it should extend only about 1 m on either side of the seating area and up to 1 m from the touchline, with markings used to define it.

The exact number of people allowed there is not set globally by one universal number. It is defined by the competition rules. That is why a professional league, international competition, friendly, youth match, or local competition may have different bench sizes and accreditation rules.

Occupants must be identified before the match

The technical area is for identified occupants such as team officials, substitutes, and substituted players. A team official can include roles such as the head coach, assistant coaches, medical staff, fitness staff, or other listed support staff, depending on the competition's team-sheet rules.

Being listed does not give a person freedom to manage the match from anywhere. The referee can still deal with behaviour from any technical area occupant, and a person who is not properly identified may be refused access under the competition procedures.

Only one person gives tactical instructions at a time

Football allows tactical instructions from the technical area, but not a crowd of people coaching from the edge of the field at once. The Laws authorise only one person at a time to convey tactical instructions.

That person still has to act responsibly. Normal coaching, brief instructions, and communication with players are different from persistent dissent, inflammatory gestures, blocking a restart, or leaving the area to confront an official.

There are limited exceptions

Technical area occupants must remain within its confines except in special circumstances. The clearest example is a physiotherapist or doctor entering the field with the referee's permission to assess an injured player.

Occasionally stepping out without another offence may be handled with a warning. Clearly or persistently ignoring the technical-area limits can become a caution. Leaving the area to remonstrate with a match official or act provocatively can become a sending-off offence.

The fourth official often monitors the area

Where a fourth official is appointed, their duties include supervising substitutions, checking substitute equipment, managing re-entry after the referee's approval, indicating minimum added time, and informing the referee about irresponsible behaviour by a technical area occupant.

The fourth official's role is practical match control. They can help calm the bench, record behaviour, and give information, but they do not replace the referee's authority to discipline a team official.

Not every bench issue is an immediate card

Some low-level offences by team officials usually start with a warning. Examples include entering the field in a respectful and non-confrontational way, failing to cooperate with a match official, minor disagreement by word or action, or occasionally leaving the technical area without committing another offence.

A warning is not a free pass. Repeated or blatant versions of the same behaviour can move to a caution or sending-off, especially if the behaviour becomes public, persistent, or disruptive.

When a team official is cautioned

A team official can be shown a yellow card for clearly or persistently not respecting the technical area, delaying their own team's restart, non-confrontationally entering the opponent's technical area, dissent by word or action, excessive card gestures, excessive VAR-review gestures, provocative behaviour, persistent unacceptable behaviour, or showing a lack of respect for the game.

For a deeper look at the same misconduct ideas for players and staff, see dissent and unsporting behaviour.

When a team official is sent off

Sending-off offences include delaying the opposing team's restart, deliberately leaving the technical area to dissent or act provocatively, entering the opponent's technical area aggressively, deliberately throwing or kicking an object onto the field, entering the field to confront a match official or interfere with play, entering the video operation room, physical or aggressive behaviour, offensive or abusive language, a second caution, unauthorised electronic communication misconduct, or violent conduct.

A sent-off team official must leave the technical area and surrounding area of the field as directed by the referee and competition procedures. The match report records the incident for the appropriate authority.

The senior coach can receive the sanction

If misconduct is committed by someone from the technical area and the offender cannot be identified, the senior team coach present in that technical area receives the sanction. This rule prevents a bench group from avoiding responsibility when an object is thrown, abuse is shouted, or another offence comes from the group but no individual can be reliably picked out.

It does not mean the head coach is automatically punished for every incident. It applies when the offence comes from the technical area and the specific offender cannot be identified.

The card and restart are separate decisions

If the ball is out of play when a team official commits misconduct, play usually restarts with the original decision. For example, a caution to a coach during a throw-in stoppage does not by itself change the throw-in.

If play is stopped because a team official interferes with play, an opposing player, or a match official, the restart depends on where and how the offence happened. Verbal offences are normally indirect-free-kick offences; physical interference or direct-free-kick offences can produce a direct free kick or penalty kick under Law 12. For restart basics, see direct and indirect free kicks.

Misunderstandings to avoid

• "The manager can stand anywhere" is wrong. Team officials must stay within the technical area except for permitted situations.
• "Only players can get cards" is wrong. Team officials can be shown yellow and red cards.
• "The coach gets one guaranteed warning" is too broad. Low-level behaviour may be warned, but serious or blatant misconduct can be punished immediately.
• "A card to the bench changes the restart" is usually wrong. The restart changes only if the misconduct or interference affects the restart law.
• "Everyone on the bench can shout instructions" is wrong. Only one person at a time is authorised to give tactical instructions.

Source material

• IFAB Law 1 - The Technical Area
• IFAB Law 5 - The Referee
• IFAB Law 6 - The Other Match Officials
• IFAB Law 12 - Team Officials