Sideline Interference

[Derek Teigen]

I was watching the Cheeze It bowl between Cal and TCU.  During OVERTIME, an interception return by TCU is almost returned for a touchdown but the runner is forced out of bounds short of goal line.  During the play, the wing official trailing the play on that sideline  was taken down by somebody on TCU's sideline.  It was a pretty good collision between the official and a guy in a suit! 

There was a 15 yard penalty for sideline interference and TCU started their series 1st and 10 from their own 45 I think. 

I don't know if there were any sideline warnings given prior to this but my understanding is if this had been high school football it would have been a 5 yard penalty for sideline interference (first or second infraction)?

[goodgrr]

Sideline warnings are for when a team wonder into the zone,

• "ARTICLE 5. While the ball is alive and during the continuing action after the ball has been declared dead:
  a. Coaches, substitutes and authorized attendants in the team area must be behind the coaching line.
  PENALTY—Administer as a dead-ball foul. First infraction: Warning for sideline interference. No yardage penalty. [S15]
  Second and third infractions: Delay of game for sideline interference, five yards from the succeeding spot. [S21 and S29]"
  
  Fourth and subsequent infractions: Team unsportsmanlike conduct for sideline interference, 15 yards from the succeeding spot.
  

however in the same rule there's specific provision for actual interference....

• "b. Physical interference with an official is a foul charged to the team for unsportsmanlike conduct. (A.R. 9-2-5-I)"

[Derek Teigen]

thank you Goodgrr.  I am going to post this over in the NFHS section as well, as I can't find that corresponding rule in the NFHS Football Rules.

[Legacy Zebra]

Another thing to note about that play: the announcers incorrectly said that even if TCU scored it would not have counted because of the foul. However, the exception to 3-1-3-g says that live ball fouls enforced as dead ball fouls (such as SLI) do not cancel a score. So if TCU would have scored on the interception, the foul would be irrelevant and the game would be over.

[Derek Teigen]

that's good stuff.  Thanks.

[peterparsons]

It's also worth being aware that 9-2-5-a and 9-2-5-b are separate and are administered as such.

Therefore, it is possible to have a 15 yard penalty under 9-2-5-b followed later on by a warning under 9-2-5-a.

[SanDiegoStryker]

But it was a guy outside the 25, seemed like just a fan, not really a "coach, substitute or authorized attendant in the team area". Should the team be penalized for this?

[Kalle]

But it was a guy outside the 25, seemed like just a fan, not really a "coach, substitute or authorized attendant in the team area". Should the team be penalized for this?

If an official has positive knowledge that the person did not come from the team area then yes, it would be an issue to take up with the game management. But, it is not the responsibility of the officials to figure out who is who on the sideline, we must be able to rely on the teams and game management to keep unauthorized people away from the playing area (inside the limit lines), especially in a bowl game. The team might of course take the issue up with the game management and/or conference afterwards if they get penalized due to a person they had no control over, but I would NOT spend much time arguing the issue with the team.

[Rob S]

But it was a guy outside the 25, seemed like just a fan, not really a "coach, substitute or authorized attendant in the team area". Should the team be penalized for this?

I saw that too, but there were a number of coaches and players in the white strip in the team area that the official had to go around. It's a foul for physical interference regardless of contact if the official has to go out of his way to avoid people in the white. So he may have been calling it on all of them as well as the guy in the suit.

[Legacy Zebra]

I read somewhere that the guy who got run over was the team's SID, so he was affiliated with the school.