keep 'em on the court
 

Had a game today where I was the coach and not the ref. While one of my players was shooting a free throw, I called another player over to our bench area to give him some advice. This player stepped out of bounds to hear what I had to say. I told him to stay on the court, which the ref overheard. Immediately the ref turned and called a technical foul because my player wasn't on the court during the free throw.

I've never heard of this being any kind of violation, let alone a technical foul. Did he make the right call? If so, if anyone knows where I can find that in the FIBA rules, I'd love to see it.

Follow up question:
The ref allowed my player to shoot his free throws and then allowed the other team to shoot the technical and take possession of the ball for a throw-in. Was the ref correct is allowing us to finish shooting our free throws, or should we have lost that opportunity due to the technical.

I'm sorry this question is so drawn out. Any help is greatly appreciated.

What rule set?

In NFHS, it's a violation to leave the court for an unauthorized reason, not a technical foul.

At least he administered the Tech correctly once he called it.

Now, I'd love to read others' interp on how to administer the violation here. Since the violation is under 9-3 rather than 9-1, I'd clear the lane and shoot the free throw(s), then give the ball to the other team at the spot of the violation.

All that said, there's no way I'm calling this violation without a warning. And I'm not even giving a warning when the coach is already dealing with it. This ref was trying to show off his knowledge of the rule and blew it. Was he an older ref?

he was a younger ref...it was his first game to officiate in our league.

we're playing in Malawi, Africa...so it's FIBA rules.

Then I'm not sure about the penalty for leaving the court or about the administration of the penalty given the call.

There's no "leaving the court" specific rule; it can be considered unsporting behavior if the player gains an advantage from the action. In this case it's nothing.

Ciao