Rules for Referees, September 2010
This is a preseason tournament for young travel teams. For some of the U9 teams it will be their first travel game ever and their first game with goalkeepers. Please keep this in mind as you work their games.
- Referee website is http://
www.refsoccer.org/ -- assignments, field locator, pay request form, etc.
- Assignor is Mike Newman, cell 703.863.9129.
General Instructions
- Be at the field at least 30 minutes before your first game. Check in with the Site Manager and work with them throughout the day in resolving problems that arise at the field.
- You do not have to check teams in before games but credentials must be available if needed.
- Keep games on schedule (but you may not shorten games or halftimes to do so).
- U9 to U11 use 1-referee; U12 uses 3 referees.
- For 1-referee games, using volunteer assistant referees is recommended but not required. “Club lines” may not signal offside or fouls, even if they are certified officials -- only in and out.
- Games will be played in accordance with FIFA Laws of the Game, except as modified herein. Note: There are some notable modifications to the Laws – please enforce the tournament’s rules.
- All referee decisions regarding play on the field are final and binding. Protests are not permitted.
- Pay. An electronic pay form is on the referee website. We use the honor system – fill in your games and hit Submit, but not until after you work your last game.
Field Arrangements
- Both teams will be on the same side of the field – spectators will be on the opposite side.
- If the tournament does not provide game balls, get suitable balls from the home team.
- A team will be allowed a 10-minute grace period after the scheduled kickoff time to gather enough players to play. Minimum number of players for U9-10 is 5; minimum for U11-12 is 6. The full 10-minute period may be used to gather as many players as possible. The game will be declared a forfeit (1-0) if a team is not prepared to play after ten minutes.
- Although they may not be marked, coaches and players must remain at least 1 yard off the touchline and between the tops of the penalty area. Spectators must remain at least 2 yards off the touchlines and between the tops of the penalty area. No one is allowed behind the goal line during the game. (Be careful enforcing this rule; often walking behind a goal line is necessary to get to another field. What referees need to discourage is spectators standing or setting up their chairs behind a goal line to watch the game.)
Player Equipment
• All players must have uniforms with individual numbers on the jersey. Home team, listed first in schedule, must change if colors are similar.
• No jewelry may be worn by any player (earrings, watches, necklaces, etc.)
• Casts and head guards are allowed with the approval of the Tournament Director and referee.
• Shin guards are mandatory.
• All referee decisions regarding player equipment are final.
Game Timing
- Games will consist of two 30-minute halves with a running clock; half-time will be 5 minutes.
- All preliminary round and consolation games may end in a tie. Championship games must have a winner. See below.
- Referees will not add time for substitutions and may refuse substitutions if considered a delaying tactic.
- The clock will not stop except when removing an injured player from the field would endanger the physical well being of the player in the judgment of the referee. Any game which runs late due to injury will be continued at the discretion of the tournament officials.
Substitutions
- Substitutions are unlimited and may be made with the referee’s permission at the following times: goal kick, after a goal, half-time, throw in by possession team, when opponent makes substitutions on their throw in, and for a cautioned (yellow carded) player if requested.
- An injured player must leave the field if the referee stops the game to deal with the injury. Both teams may substitute one player from the bench.
- Substitutions may not be made on corner kicks.
Game Result Reporting
- After each game a representative of each team will present a game result card to the referee.
- The referee will enter (or confirm) the score and note all yellow and red cards issued (noting team, player number, and reason), and will sign the card, making it the official record of the game.
Player/Coach/Spectator Behavior
- The coach is responsible for the conduct of the players and parents on his/her team. Coaches not taking responsibility for their sideline’s behavior may be cautioned or ejected.
- Players and coaches will be shown yellow or red cards when being cautioned or sent-off. Any player ejected will not be replaced and will not be allowed to play in his or her team’s next game. Any coach ejected from a game will not be allowed to coach his/her team’s next game.
- Alcoholic beverages, smoking, pets, and noisemakers are prohibited at all tournament sites.
Championship Procedures
- Championship games are indicated on your assignments -- they may not end in a tie. (Consolation games may end in a tie.)
- Championship games ending regulation in a tie will, after a 5-minute break, play two full five-minute overtimes (no sudden death). Choice of end will be determined by a coin toss. Normal substitution rules will be used during both overtime periods, except no substitutions will be allowed between OT periods.
- If still tied at the end of OT, FIFA kicks from the penalty mark will be taken to determine the winner. Teams may not make any substitutions after OT -- penalty kicks must be completed with the players on the field at the end of the overtime periods. Procedures for kicks from the penalty mark are on page 36 of the Laws of the Game. The winner of a coin toss will kick first.
- Referees working 1-man games should get help from other referees if possible and tournament officials for the kicks from the penalty mark
.
Bad Weather
- Unless notified by the assignor, referees should be at their fields ready to work as assigned. The tournament makes every effort possible to get games in in bad weather.
- Teams must also be ready to play at the scheduled time regardless of weather conditions. Failure to appear may result in a forfeit.
- Referees may only suspend games if playing conditions become unsafe. Only the Tournament Committee may cancel or postpone a game due to weather conditions.
- If severe weather starts after the beginning of play, the Tournament Committee may reduce the game length, discontinue or cancel any game in progress.
- A game terminated due to weather conditions after 30 minutes of play will be considered final, with the score recorded as of the end of play. Every effort will be made to complete a game terminated in the first half. However the Tournament Committee may use other means to determine a winner if necessary.
- Games will not begin or continue during lightning.
- The Tournament Committee may modify game formats during severe weather conditions. This includes shortening games, adding breaks, eliminating overtime periods, and any other modifications.
