Mike, a U13 – U19 referee, asks:
While play is going on, is it legal for players to get water bottles from the bench and drink from them if they stay on the field. How about if they get involved with the play while still carrying the bottle?
Answer
Interesting question, and a very likely event in a game.
The formal Laws of the Game do not allow a player on the field to either bring a water container onto the field or to exit the field for the purpose of getting/drinking water off the field unless via the formal process of requesting approval from the referee to exit the field temporarily. That said, it is common in lower-level games to allow a player to approach a touchline for the purpose of getting a drink provided that this player would not block an opponent or himself engage in any challenging contact with an opponent or attempt to play the ball in any way. A player in this situation would be expected to avoid any and all actions which could/would conceivably be considered active play involving any other player and/or the ball.
If it even appears advantageous to participate in any way, the player with the water must quickly and totally remove from the field all contact with the source of water prior to attempting any participation in the action on the field. Failure to do so should lead to an immediate stoppage of play, a caution for this player (unsporting behavior), and an indirect free kick for the opposing team where the misconduct occurred.
