Category: Rules of Competition

Rules of Competition

Law 18 - Common Sense

WHEN IS A MATCH OVER?

Posted on by

Question:
When is a match complete when terminated? Specifically, if 1/2 the match is played, and weather, darkness, etc. require the match to be terminated, is it complete? Or must the second half be started? Can you cite the Law or Paragraph in ATR? I don’t see any.
This has been an argument for many years with fellow referees.
thank you.

USSF answer (May 1, 2009):
You won’t find it in the Laws or in the Advice to Referees for one simple reason: There is nothing there. This situation is governed by the rules of the competition under which the game is played. The FIFA rule for the competitions it sanctions is that the game must be replayed in its entirety. Many competitions required that at least half the game have been played before a game counts as completed. Other competitions have different requirements. Know the rules for every competition in which you officiate.…

Law 11 - Offside

OFFSIDE IN U8 GAMES?

Posted on by

Question:
I am going to be reffing my first game on Saturday. It is a u8 game. Is it true that u8s don’t play with offsides? Thanks for the help.

USSF answer (April 23, 2009):
According to the USYS rules for U8 small-sided soccer, there is no offside at the U8 level.

You will have to check the local rules of competition — what the league your are refereeing in wants to have called (or not) — to know for sure what to do in the game you will be working.…

Advice to Referees

RETURN OF PLAYER OFF FIELD FOR BLEEDING

Posted on by

Question:
What is the proper procedure for a player who is bleeding or is seen with blood on his/her uniform? I know the player has to leave the field of play and can not return until the Referee or A.R. has inspected the player ensuring that the bleeding has stopped or blood removed but what about the stoppage of play and substitution? I’ve seen referees stop play, send the player off, allow substitutions then restart with a drop ball. I’ve seen other referees send the player off, allow play to continue and no substitution.

Thanks.

USSF answer (March 24, 2009):
See the Advice to Referees, Advice 3.13 and 5.8

3.13 RETURN OF A PLAYER TEMPORARILY OFF THE FIELD
//snipped//
If a player has been instructed to leave the field to correct bleeding, blood on the uniform, or illegal equipment, the procedure for permitting that player to return to the field is described in Advice 5.8.

5.8 RETURN AFTER BLEEDING OR EQUIPMENT REMEDY
If a player is bleeding or the uniform is blood-soaked, the player must leave the field immediately to have the bleeding stopped and his or her skin and uniform cleaned as thoroughly as possible (replacing the uniform may be necessary to meet this requirement). Before the player can return to the field, the correction of the situation must be confirmed by an official-the referee or, if delegated by the referee in the pregame conference, the fourth official or, if there is no fourth official, an assistant referee. Once the correction has been confirmed, the player can be permitted to return to the field if beckoned by the referee, even if play is continuing. The objective is to bring the team back to its authorized strength as soon as possible.

To the extent that your question deals with substitutions, the only answer we can offer is that you review the rules of the competitions in which you are working.  For example, if the match is using the so-called “youth substitution rules,” then certainly the team will want to put a substitute in for one of its players who is off the field dealing with a bleeding/blood on the uniform problem.  If the match uses full Law 3 substitution rules, then more likely than not the team will NOT want to substitute (thus using one of its limited substitutions) for a player who might otherwise be ready to play in a few minutes.

It also depends on whether the player in question was ordered off at a stoppage (which might then also be a substitution opportunity under the rules of competition) or whether the player was ordered off during play with no stoppage.…

Law 18 - Common Sense

WHO TAKES OVER FOR REFEREE UNABLE TO CONTINUE?

Posted on by

Question:
I had this happen to me while being the Referee of a tournament game this past weekend. It was the second half (about 15 minutes remaining in the match) and I was sprinting across the field on a fast play and I got a cramp in my calf. At first it slowed me quite a bit and I hobbled around for about 45 seconds and was able to work it out without stopping the game.

So, my question is what would be the appropriate action to take if the Referee becomes unable to finish the match? Do one of the AR’s take over or is the match called if it is in the 2nd half?

USSF answer (March 24, 2009):
Unless the rules of the competition specify otherwise, the senior assistant referee (AR) takes over if the referee is unable to complete the match.

If there is no competent person to assume the duties of the senior AR, the new referee and the junior AR work the game alone. However, there is no change in authority; the referee remains in full control. The referee works one side of the field, the AR the other, but only the referee is permitted to use a whistle and retains all duties and powers granted by Law 5.…

Rules of Competition

WHEN IS A MATCH REPLAYED?

Posted on by

Question:
When must be a soccer match replayed and in which number of law or rule of soccer are these conditions stated?

USSF answer (January 26, 2009):
The match must be replayed when the rules of the competition call for it. There is nothing in the Laws of the Game regarding the matter.

However, there is a requirement in the Law that, unless superseded by the rules of competition, a match cannot be considered complete if it fails to proceed through the full length of the required periods of play (2 equal periods of 45 minutes each).  So, if a game is ended before this point, it cannot be considered a valid match in the absence of any pertinent provision in the rules of competition.  Those provisions can range from the circumstances under which the the match COULD be counted anyway to rules about replaying the match.…

Coach

POST-REMOVAL SUSPENSIONS

Posted on by

Question:
I was reading the Position Paper of November 18, 2008 regarding Player-Coaches. The second to last paragraph states in part “It states ” a player-coach who has been red carded can not be present at the team’s next match in either a player or any team official capacity”.

I always thought a send off only applied to the remainder of the current match being played and that further suspension, including the team’s “next match”, was at the discretion of the competition authority.

USSF answer (December 22, 2008):
Aha! Well, now you have learned something, coach. The suspension mandated by the IFAB and FIFA is for the remainder of the game from which the player or team official is removed and for one game beyond that. And, if the competition authority (the people who run the league, cup, tournament, whatever) have it in their rules, that person may also have to sit more than one extra game.

And of course what the competition authority can do is not limited to a lengthier suspension. They can add whatever penalties are allowed for in their own rules, and they can, in the case of a player-coach, differentiate between the two roles in applying additional penalties.…

Law 4 - Equipment

JERSEY NUMBERS

Posted on by

Question:
Can you help me find a official reference to a requirement that players must have jersey numbers and a specific reference that they must be different numbers?

I was at a college showcase over the weekend and the “tournament” allowed for up to 6 guest players.  It was obvious that teams took liberty with this, allowing younger “club mates” and less skilled “club mates” from other teams in the club replace members that could not make it.  Trouble with this was many had same numbers as team mates, or no numbers at all.  Also some jerseys were markedly different (same colors as team, but reversed as though they only had away jerseys) but did not conflict with the other team at all.

Coaches didn’t complain because of the friendly nature of the showcase, and while there normally isn’t the number of occurrences that happened in this case, there’s certainly more objection in league play.

League or competition rules may specify, but according to USSF I could not find a passage in the laws or in the advice to point to these rules. I would love to have in my bag the highlighted passage from an official document from USSF (if there is one)

Questions:
–  Must a player have a jersey number on the jersey?
–  Must it be different from all other numbers teams present?
–  Any special rules for goalkeeper clothing?
–  Must all jerseys be the exact same color scheme? (I am assuming in this question that the variances satisfy the requirement stated in the “advice” book in distinguishing themselves from the keepers, the other team, and the referee)

USSF answer (December 2, 2008):
A reminder that we don’t do college or high school rules here, and we certainly do not do “showcases,” which are nothing but what their name suggests, a game where players are paraded before coaches like pigs, sheep, or cattle at a country fair.

You will find nothing in the Laws of the Game or in the Advice to Referees for a good reason: Numbers and uniform details are governed by the rules of whatever competition they are being used in, not in the Laws. You will find such details in the rules of the various cup competitions played under the aegis of the USSF and USYS, and in the rules of college and high school soccer; however, In the case of “showcase” games, there will likely be no rules at all.

The Laws cover uniforms only in so far as teams must wear uniforms that are different in color from those of the opponents and of the officials (who do not need to change at all; the teams must change).…

Coach

SUSPENSION OF COACH DISMISSED FROM GAME

Posted on by

Question:
Actually two questions, with no information to suggest that the two situations actually involve the same people.
1. A coach asks:
If a coach is suspended from a game by the referee and the league rules that he automatically becomes ineligible for the following two games. Should he be allowed to coach his other team within that same league during that suspension if he is one of those of us who coach two teams at a time?
2. A club officer asks:
Last week in a recreational league, two coaches on opposing teams were ejected by the referee for profanity and bad sportsmanship. Both coaches tendered their resignation as it was suggested that with only two games left in the season and a two game suspension for the infraction it didn’t make sense not to. One coach rescinded his resignation the night before the next game and went on to coach a team in the same league that he was not the head coach of prior to this incident. Can an red carded coach continue to coach other teams in the same league with the same refs working the games?

USSF answer (October 22, 2008):
Your questions revolve about the same issue — namely, what is the “reach” of the automatic one game mandatory suspension (and, perhaps as a supplement, of any lengthier suspension)?  Does it apply only to the next game involving the same team?  Does it apply to the next game under the same authority, whether or not it is the same team?  Does it apply to the next game regardless of team or authority?

First off, the referee does not suspend coaches or other participants. The referee has the power to send off players, substitutes, and substituted players and to expel team officials who do not behave responsibly. Only the competition authority (club, league, state association, etc.) has the power to suspend anyone beyond the one game suspension prescribed in the Laws of the Game.

It is normal that a player (or substitute or substituted player) is suspended from the next game under the aegis of the competition authority, but that may be extended by the authority in accordance with its regulations. The same applies to a coach or other team official. It is also normal that these persons do not participate in other events sponsored by the same authority until their suspension in the first instance has run its course.

There will be no guidance from FIFA (the world governing body) since, in their context, the question wouldn’t even arise.  A player is on one team and only one team, and a coach is with one team and only one team.   Whether we are speaking of a player or a team official, the reach of the minimum one game suspension is limited to the next game under the same authority which authorized the game in which the red card was given.  Any lengthier suspension would apply to whatever the governing body desired as long as it was within their scope.

What your questions concern is preventing a dismissed coach from being at his next scheduled match controlled by the same competition authority, even if it involves a different team.  In practical local terms, that means that a coach who has a boys team and a girls team who is dismissed from one of his girls’ games would have to be absent from his next girls’ game but not his next boys’ game.  However, the governing authority over both of these organizations could, in theory, decide otherwise. In the end, the resolution of this matter is up to the competition authority.…

Law 3 - Players

SUBSTITUTIONS IN U6 SOCCER

Posted on by

Question:
I know what the rule book reads for substitutions, but how does it apply to U6 division?

Meaning should subs only be allowed when the ball is out of play?

Chris Hiett

USSF answer (October 7, 2008):
While we have no idea whether or not your league/state association/club uses the official rules promulgated by U. S. Youth Soccer, we can tell you what the USYS U6 Rules say:

Law 3 – The Number of Players: A match is played by two teams, each consisting of not more than three players. There are NO goalkeepers.
Substitutions: At any stoppage and unlimited.
Playing time: Each player SHALL play a minimum of 50% of the total playing time. Teams and games may be coed.

…
"Inventive" Refs

RULES OF COMPETITION BRING ABOUT UNSPORTING TACTICS

Posted on by

Question:
I was center referee for a U14G Class I Select tournament game this weekend. Standings for the tournament were based on points for each flight’s round robin games. This particular event deducted a game point if the goal differential was greater than four. Shutouts also earned an extra point, but that didn’t factor into this game.

During the course of this game, one team had a clear advantage over the other. At a certain point during the second half, they exceeded the 4 goal differential limit by a score of 6-1. Not wanting to hurt their game points in the standings, they allowed their opponents to score a free goal with no pressure at all–the entire team stood like statues (6-2). They scored another goal and then repeated the process (7-3).

Clearly at this point the team which was behind got very frustrated with these tactics. However, since they were complicit by scoring the freebie goals, I just kept on with my normal referee duties. And yet again, the team scored bringing the score up to 8-3. The losing team put the ball into play, but their players didn’t actually challenge for the ball. The winning team did not want to lose their point, so they dribbled down and scored an own goal against themselves (8-4).

The sidelines got extremely verbal at this point.

The coach of the losing team called his players off to stand on their side of midfield and everyone just stood around. After 10-15 seconds, I told the center forward to put the ball into play. After she did, I blew the whistle and ended the game 2 minutes prior to the actual end time.

After the game, there was a lot of complaints about sportsmanship from the losing team, and a lot of grousing about the rules of the tournament from the winning team. I kept the situation under control, but it should have never gotten to that point.

So my question is this: What is the best way to handle this situation? As referee, my decisions shouldn’t really be informed by the scoring rules of the tournament, but I need to be able to control a potentially inflammatory situation. It’s not a good position to be in.

The center referee for the following game and I talked about the situation later; he had seen it unfold. His suggestion was to issue a yellow card to the captains of the winning team for unsporting behavior once they stopped playing defense and letting their opponents score. This would send a signal to the coach that this behavior is not tolerated. I suppose this could be considered “acting in a manner which shows a lack of respect for the game” but I’m not quite convinced there isn’t a better way.

Any suggestions? (Besides eliminating the goal differential rule for an event of this caliber)

USSF answer (October 2, 2008):
The referee who accepts a game in such a competition thereby accepts the rules of the competition, no matter how incredible they may seem, and has no authority to act in such a situation. He or she simply includes full details in the match report.

That means no cautions for reasons not covered by the Law of the Game, no lectures, no pleading. Just put it in the report. Let the competition authority defend its own rules.…