The Ref Stop

Subs standing behind goal line

PSmith

New Member
Can I ask about where subs (in bibs) are allowed to warm-up and stand?

Rules seem to state to the left of the AR.

Recent game where the opposing subs stood behind the goal line, but not that near the goal. (10m away). Are they interfering with the goal keeper if behind the goal line at all? Should they always be on the touch line?
 
The Ref Stop
Competition rules cover this in many cases, but it's up to the referee to decide and indicate what is acceptable in other cases.
In some cases, there may be insufficient warm-up space adjacent to the touchline, so alternatives have to be sorted, e.g. a grass area next to the stand or similar.
 
It seems to happen more overseas, can't recall ever seeing subs behind the goal line in senior English games. You really don't want them there is possible, and certainly don't want them anywhere near the goal post.

I'm sure there was a video that I think was from the Bundesliga where a sub touched a shot before it had crossed the line for a goal kick and the outcome was a penalty.
 
It seems to happen more overseas, can't recall ever seeing subs behind the goal line in senior English games. You really don't want them there is possible, and certainly don't want them anywhere near the goal post.

I'm sure there was a video that I think was from the Bundesliga where a sub touched a shot before it had crossed the line for a goal kick and the outcome was a penalty.
October 2019 in the Bundesliga. Still available to view on YouTube 😁
 
Up North we have mostly artificial fields with narrow touchlines and space behind the goal line. So it’s a common warm up area - and in grassroots it’s also a common warm up area for the next match’s teams.

Either way you don’t want players or ball behind the goal. In bigger matches it’s in the prematch that warm ups will e.g. be close to corner flag. At grassroots if someone starts juggling/passing close to the goal area or behind the goal they get a telling off. It’s not fair on the GK and a nightmare waiting to happen.
 
It's always a given whereever I've been that subs can't use a ball to warm up during the game, due to exactly the risk of it going onto the pitch at a key moment.

If given the choice, I always prefer both sets of subs to warm up behind the senior AR. There's a risk of conflict between them of course, but I've never actually seen that happen in reality and if it does, the AR is there as a presence to try and deal with it. And I also have been a junior AR struggling to tell a player apart from a bibbed sub on the far side when they warm up opposite me, so generally prefer not to subject my ARs to that if I have the choice.
 
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