[mikesears]

The reason there are four or more officials is NOT because of player control issues. It is more about the rules of the game.

You wrote:
Can a player be cited for an infringement in a game by anyone else other than the on-field game officials?

The method game officials have for controlling players is by administering penalties to his/her team and this is usually motivation enough for a player to quit fouling. If a player's actions are flagrant, he can be disqualified for the remainder of the game by the officials.

But this discussion really depends upon your definition of "citing". If you mean issuing a penalty to his team, the answer is "No, only game officials can issue a yardage penalty against a team for a player's misconduct during the game."

However, if citing a player means disciplining a player, then the answer is yes. A coach can "cite" a player for poor conduct by stepping in and removing a player from the game without any direction or request from a game official (and this does happen).

Also, players can be "cited" by the governing body AFTER a game is completed. They can be suspended (further suspended) by the governing body.


You wrote:
can players be disciplined by officials for off the field behaviour

At most levels of football, there is a governing body that can issue additional penalties to a player who breaks rules or misbehaves when not on the field but those who were paid to administer the game don't have any say for off the field behavior.

The professional body that handles the players is the NFL and the NFLPA (NFL Players Association) and the team owner.

[Edited by mikesears on May 24th, 2004 at 08:11 AM]