When you sin bin a player, they have to go to the technical area, or area marked for sin bin purposes. Is there a law that states they have to leave the FOP in a certain way? IE can they walk round the side of the pitch to allow the game to continue? Or do they have to leave the FOP right at the technical area touchline?
Sin Bins
- Thread starter MattTheRef
- Start date
ChasObserverRefDeveloper
Regular Contributor
The correct signal after you show the yellow card is to point in the direction of the technical area with both arms, so the easiest answer to your question is they leave there. Time is measured from the moment play restarts.
This is what I did.
Scenario is a penalty. Player gets sin binned for complaints following it. I signalled correctly . They left FOP next to goal, and walked round the side of the pitch to the technical area where they remained. They didn’t leave this way for any reason other than I think they felt it was the quickest route.
I waited for them to be round the corner flag, and ‘on the home straight’ before doing the ceremony round the box/keeper. I allowed the penalty to be taken as they were around 15 yards from the technical area.
Law states the time of the sin bin starts when the player has left the FOP and the game has restarted. It does not state they have to leave the pitch at a certain point and the time only starts when they are in the technical area.
Am I wrong in law or missing something?
At grass roots there are very rarely technical areas, so you are really just pointing them off the pitch and they will go to where their manager / subs are stood. You certainly don't want them behind the goal at the time a penalty they conceded is about to be taken, so good call to hold it up until they were well away.