Team members leaving team box

[Badger1]

Had these situations come up in the game.

Situation 1--Team B intercepts pass in front of Team B's  sideline near the 50 yard line.  Player intercepting pass is tackled and then numerous Team B players leave the team box just to celebrate on the field with player who intercepted pass and then go back to the team box.

Situation 2--In a game where Team A has battled back from a large deficit, Team A scores a Touchdown on a long downfield pass.  Members of Team A leave the team box and rush down to the end zone merely to celebrate with the teammate who scored.  Players then go back to their team box. 

I thought in the past that such actions of players leaving the team box was an unsportsmanlike conduct foul but I have not seen such rule references lately when going through the casebook.  Are these actions now considered to fall under the sideline warning rule?

[ncwingman]

Non-players who leave the team box and enter the field of play *while the ball is live* is an unsportsmanlike conduct penalty. In both of your scenarios, the ball is dead before any body else enters to celebrate.

If players are positively celebrating in the immediate vicinity of the team box, I've got nothing, even if the letter of the rule might justify a foul.

If the whole team runs down into the end zone to celebrate, and they are clearly not substituting for the try -- that might earn a flag, depending on the situation.

[the clown]

Here's another one.
After a punt, one K player and one R player square off and go to blows as the rest of their teams are headed toward their team box and the officials are transitioning from one end of the field to the other.  Whistles and flags draw attention to the two Bubbas and now from the team box here comes coaches and the offense and defense.  Each team has at least 20 players on the field.  We are trying to figure out who left the team box to participate in the brawl and who left the team box because there was a change of possession.  The Bubbas got tossed and everyone else was warned but I still have no idea how to handle it in the future. 

[prab]

Here's another one.
After a punt, one K player and one R player square off and go to blows as the rest of their teams are headed toward their team box and the officials are transitioning from one end of the field to the other.  Whistles and flags draw attention to the two Bubbas and now from the team box here comes coaches and the offense and defense.  Each team has at least 20 players on the field.  We are trying to figure out who left the team box to participate in the brawl and who left the team box because there was a change of possession.  The Bubbas got tossed and everyone else was warned but I still have no idea how to handle it in the future.

Sounds like you handled it as well as it could be handled.

[yarnnelg]

We had a fight break out between a defensive tackle and the QB on a sack. Seems the QB took exception to being man handled. Both of us on the wings let the Umpire and White Hat handle the wrestling match. We immediately turned and yelled that if anyone left the sideline they were gone. The benches were ready to go.

I had five coaches with backs turned to me and five yards out on the field, screaming for the team to stay put. Best crowd control yet.

No way I flag the coaches for that.

In the first scenarios, throw a flag on number 1, and continue to do so,  I bet field officiating isn't in your near future.

[VALJ]

We had a fight break out between a defensive tackle and the QB on a sack. Seems the QB took exception to being man handled. Both of us on the wings let the Umpire and White Hat handle the wrestling match. We immediately turned and yelled that if anyone left the sideline they were gone. The benches were ready to go.

I had five coaches with backs turned to me and five yards out on the field, screaming for the team to stay put. Best crowd control yet.

No way I flag the coaches for that.

I agree 100%.  If they're a little bit on the field but are out there to help keep their bench players from getting involved, I'm going to thank them, not flag them.  If they run out on to the field to get their player out of there, maybe.  If their team follows them onto the field when they go out to separate them, time to start taking numbers.

[Ralph Damren]

We should welcome coaches on the field in an attempt to break up a fight as we could be caucus in doing so. Getting between players to prevent one is one thing, but we should not grab/ pull/ push a player. In these sue-happy days, we're better off jotting down numbers and for those of you that are long of tooth (like me) you may remember the riot caused by the fight between "Rocket" Richard (Les Canadians) and "Boom-Boom" Geffreion (Les Maple Leafs) that was mishandled by the linesmen in a Stanley Cup game back in the '50s.

[Patrick E.]

The Rocket wasn't exactly a Boy Scout - https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Richard_Riot

[GA Umpire]

We had a fight break out between a defensive tackle and the QB on a sack. Seems the QB took exception to being man handled. Both of us on the wings let the Umpire and White Hat handle the wrestling match. We immediately turned and yelled that if anyone left the sideline they were gone. The benches were ready to go.

I had five coaches with backs turned to me and five yards out on the field, screaming for the team to stay put. Best crowd control yet.

No way I flag the coaches for that.

Below are the instructions to GA officials in case a fight erupts:

•   Officials in the immediate area of the fight should use their voice, whistle, and body positioning to separate players who are mouthing at one another chest-to-chest, or who are pushing and "chicken fighting". 
•   Officials must not grasp, push, or pull a player unless it is an emergency situation in which a player on the bottom is in jeopardy of being injured by the hitting/kicking of the player on the top in the fight. 
•   Once a fight breaks out, everyone is better off if the number of people fighting is kept to a minimum. Officials who are near the sidelines and away from the fight should initially turn toward their sideline and let all the players on that sideline know that they must not come onto the field until the fight has ended and the football game has resumed.
•   Officials who are not in the area of the field where the fight is occurring should write down the jersey numbers of all players who are involved in the fight, and the jersey numbers of all substitutes who leave the team box area during the fight. 
•   Allow coaches to come onto the field to separate combatants. 
•   If this is a large-scale fight and/or substitutes come onto the field, both teams should be sent to their respective sidelines while the officials sort out the players who are to be ejected. 
•   Once order has been restored and the teams separated, the entire officiating crew should meet together to discuss the numbers of those players to be ejected. Then the Referee should notify each head coach personally about those players who have been ejected. These decisions are not negotiable and videotape cannot be used to make the decision or to change the decision. 

As shown, we are to allow the coaches to enter the field to separate combatants and try to restore order.  This procedure may the different in other locales.