If a team official enters the field and interferes with play, what type of restart is needed?

When a team official enters the field and interferes with play, the appropriate type of restart is a direct free kick. This ruling is based on the Laws of the Game, which state that if a person who is not a player or an official of the opposing team enters the field and interferes with play, a direct free kick is awarded to the opposing team at the location where the interference occurred.

A direct free kick is awarded because the actions of the team official are regarded as a form of misconduct that creates an unfair advantage or disrupts the normal flow of the game. Since a direct free kick allows for a shot on goal, it emphasizes the seriousness of the infringement and the need for the affected team to gain a potential scoring opportunity as a result of the disruption caused by the team official.

Other types of restarts like an indirect free kick, corner kick, or goal kick are not applicable in this scenario as they are governed by different conditions that do not align with the action of a team official interfering with play.