The Manly Warringah Football Referees Association would like to reaffirm the Laws of the Game and the competition rules that govern the management of the technical area.
The management of the technical area is a critical aspect of maintaining control of the match and is especially critical amidst a period of heightened tensions on and off the field as finals time approaches.
The MWFRA asks its referees to be proactive in managing the behaviour of team officials and to take appropriate action if necessary (using the ‘Ask, Tell, Remove’ method.) A citation report must be submitted if a team official is dismissed from the technical area.
The MWFRA also asks referees appointed to Premier League matches to check that all team officials in the technical area visibly wear their MWFA identity cards whenever present in the technical area. A team official cannot be in the technical area without his or her own MWFA identity card. This MWFA identity card must also correspond to the grade/division in which they are coaching/managing.
The Laws of the Game state that:
- the number of persons permitted to occupy the technical area is defined by the Competition Rules (included below)
- only one person at a time is authorised to convey tactical instructions from the technical area
- team officials must remain within its confines except in special circumstances, e.g. a physiotherapist or doctor entering the field of play, with the referee’s permission, to assess an injured player
- occupants of the technical area must behave in a responsible manner.
The MWFA competition rules state that:
- only players and substitute players listed on the match card and team officials are allowed in the technical area
- all team officials in the technical area must wear their MWFA identity card at all times and it must be visible
- for all competitions except O35 and O45 competitions, a maximum of nine (9) people are permitted to be in the technical area. These nine (9) people are to be five (5) substitute players and four (4) team officials
- for O35 and O45 competitions, a maximum of eleven (11) people are permitted to be in the technical area. These eleven (11) people are to be seven (7) substitute players and four (4) team officials
- all substitute players in the technical area must remain seated unless moving to and from warm-up.
If there are fewer than five substitute players (or fewer than eleven substitute players in O35 and O45 competitions) this does not allow additional persons in the area; teams are limited to four team officials during the match even if more than four team officials possess identity cards.
Alcohol Free Zone
Alcohol consumption is not permitted at any junior or youth game anywhere near the ground. Alcohol consumption is also not permitted at all matches on school grounds.
The MWFA Executive Committee requests the storage and consumption of alcohol to be well away from the technical areas on all other grades.
Alcohol should not be stored or consumed in the technical area nor between the two technical areas nor directly behind the technical areas.