Are Referees Now Becoming Too Focused on the Dugouts and Technical Areas, and Not Focused Enough on the Actual Game?

By The Wild Weatherman
The Wild Weatherman · Opinion

The increasing focus on technical areas has made this question impossible to ignore. In many competitions, only two people are allowed to stand in the dugout at any one time. But what is the actual priority here? Is it really a major problem if a manager, assistant manager and coach are all standing together, as long as they remain in the technical area, behave appropriately and don’t interfere with players or officials?

Football is emotional. Managers and coaches are there to coach. They need to communicate with players, make tactical changes and react to what is happening on the pitch. How are coaches supposed to do their jobs properly if they are constantly being told to sit down because there are already two people standing?

There is a huge difference between poor behaviour and simply coaching. Abuse, intimidation, dissent and aggressive behaviour should absolutely be dealt with. But a coach standing up, shouting instructions or showing frustration shouldn’t automatically become a refereeing priority.

And this is where the bigger question comes in. Are referees sometimes spending too much time watching the dugout instead of watching the game?

While a referee is checking whether the third coach is standing, something could be happening 40 yards away on the pitch. While an assistant referee is monitoring someone stepping outside the technical area, players are competing for the ball. While attention is being drawn to a manager’s reaction, the next challenge, off-the-ball incident or potential foul could be missed. Surely the priority should be simple: get the decisions on the pitch right.

Nobody wants a referee who allows a manager to scream abuse at them for 90 minutes. But equally, nobody wants a referee who appears more interested in policing where coaches are standing than making the correct decisions that actually affect the result.

The technical area shouldn’t become a second football pitch where referees are constantly looking for minor offences.

If three members of a coaching staff are standing in the technical area, communicating with their players and causing absolutely no problem, is that really more important than getting the next tackle, offside decision or handball correct?

Football needs discipline, but it also needs common sense. Referees deserve respect, but coaches and managers deserve the freedom to do their jobs too.

The biggest mistake a referee can make isn’t having three coaches standing in a technical area. It’s missing something important on the pitch because they’re too busy watching the dugout.

First published in Dugout News, Issue 3, 23 August 2026. Republished here in full.