Applicable to Relaxed/Just-for-fun and Serious/Competitive leagues
General/Misc.
1. The game rules will follow the FIFA “Laws of the Game”, except as noted below (or specified otherwise herein).
· Slide-tackling is not allowed.
Infringements/Sanctions: If a player is guilty of slide-tackling but doesn't touch another player in the process then play may continue. If the player touches another player while slide-tackling then the player will be issued a yellow-card, unless the ref considers the tackle malicious in which case a red card may be issued.
· Substitutions during a game may be made “on the fly” (as in hockey) without a stoppage in play. The player to be substituted must leave the field completely before the substitute can enter the game. The point of exit and entry for substitutions will be marked with cones on one side of the field near the half line.
Infringements/Sanctions: If the player substituted isn't completely off the field, or if the players don't enter/exit through the cones, then the ref may award an indirect free kick for the other team.
2. The referee’s call is final -- no dissent will be tolerated.
Infringements/Sanctions: A player will be warned if the ref considers the player to be dissenting. If the player continues to dissent then a yellow-card may be issued.
3. For the start of the game, the second team listed in the pairing (i.e. the Blue team) gets the ball first (takes the kickoff) while the first team listed in the pairing (i.e. the White team) chooses which side it will defend first. At half time, the teams swap sides and the first team listed in the pairing (the White team) takes the kickoff.
Number of Players
1. The maximum number of players each team will field is defined in the table below.
|
Number of Players Present for the Team With the Most Number of Players Present (or Number of Players Present if both teams have the same number of players present) |
Maximum Number of Players Fielded (including goalkeeper) |
|
8 or less |
6 |
|
9 or 10 |
7 |
|
11 |
8 |
|
12 or more |
9 |
As an example, if Team A has 11 players present and Team B has 9 players present then both teams may field a maximum of 8 players (including the goalkeeper).
NOTE: The value “number of players present for the team with the most number of players present” used in the table above shall not exceed the total number of players on either team’s roster (per the website). This rule prevents a team from being penalized in the case that each team doesn’t have the same number of players on their roster. For example, if Team A has 12 players on their roster (with 12 in attendance for the A vs B matchup) and Team B has 11 players on their roster (with 10 in attendance for the A vs B matchup) then the value used for the table above will be 11 (instead of 12).
Infringements/Sanctions: If a team fields more players than defined above, and the maximum number of players fielded hasn't been increased by rule 2 below, then the ref will stop play and the extra players must leave the field of play. Failure to leave the field of play will be treated as dissent and penalized per the dissent rule below.
2. The maximum number of players fielded, per rule 1 above, may be increased if the captains (NOTE: if a captain isn’t present then the acting captain will assume the captain’s responsibilities) of both teams agree to the proposed increase to the maximum number of players fielded. For example, if both teams have 10 players then per rule 1 the maximum number of players fielded is 7. However, if both captains would prefer to field 8 players then the maximum number of players fielded will be 8 instead of 7.
Infringements/Sanctions: If the captains haven't agreed to increase the maximum number of players fielded then the sanction of rule 1 above applies.
3. The maximum number of players fielded shall be determined by rule 1 first and then supplemented per rule 2 above before the start of each half, and will be made known to the ref(s) and captains of both teams before the start of the first half and thereafter if there is a change. For example, if at the start of the first half both teams have 10 players (and both captains haven’t agreed to increase this) then the first half will be played with a maximum of 7 players fielded. If a player shows up late for one of the teams, the maximum number of players fielded will remain at 7 for the remainder of the half. Then, the maximum number of players fielded will increase to 8 at the start of the next half per rule 1 above. NOTE: The increase doesn’t require approval from both captains since rule 1 is used first to determine the maximum number of players fielded. Rule 2 only comes into effect if the captains of both teams agree to increase the maximum after applying rule 1. The intent of this rule is to increase playing time, and not penalize those teams with good attendance by allowing more people to play.
Infringements/Sanctions: Same as the sanctions for rules 1 and 2 above.
4. The actual number of players each team fields shall be less then or equal to the maximum number of players fielded as defined above.
Infringements/Sanctions: Same as the sanctions for rules 1 and 2 above.
5. Each team must field at least 5 players to avoid forfeiting the game.
Infringement/Sanctions: If the team isn't able to field 5 players then the game will be forfeited.
6. Team rosters will be created from the league roster of registered players. Each team will only field eligible players from their team roster. Failure to do so will result in the team forfeiting the game. An eligible player is a player that is registered (listed on a team's roster on the league's website) and not on suspension because of a red card.
Infringements/Sanctions: If a team fields an ineligible player then the team will forfeit the game. If the ineligible player isn't registered then the ineligible player will be banned indefinitely from playing in the league, and if this becomes a repeat issue for a team, the team's captain (and/or person responsible for coordinating the play of the ineligible player) may also be banned indefinitely from the league. If a team fields a player that is registered but not assigned to the team (per the website) then, unless both captains agreed to this, the player will be considered ineligible and sanctioned per above (including the team forfeiting).
Equipment
1. The first team listed on the schedule will wear white t-shirts/jerseys and the other team will wear dark blue t-shirts/jerseys (for example, A vs B; A wears white, B wears dark blue). The color must clearly identify the player with his/her team. The goalkeeper must wear a shirt/jersey of a color other than white or dark blue that distinguishes the goalkeeper from all other players.
The following are examples of common mistakes regarding this rule: a. wearing gray in place of white, b. wearing light blue (or purple or black) in place of dark blue, c. wearing a shirt that contains different colors (white and dark blue, for example) and one color isn't predominant.
Infringements/Sanctions: If the color of the shirt doesn't cause confusion as to what team the player belongs to then the player will be warned that they need to replace the shirt with the appropriate color for the next game. If this becomes a repeat issue then the subsequent times the player will be asked to leave the field of play and not return until they have the appropriate color. Failure to do so will be considered dissent.
2. Each team will have at least one ball (size 5) that may be used during the game.
Infringements/Sanctions: If neither team has a size 5 ball then the game will be cancelled and the score entered as 0 to 0.
3. Shin-guards are required to be worn and covered by socks for all fielded players.
Infringements/Sanctions: If a fielded player isn’t wearing covered shin guards then the player will be asked to leave the field of play. If the player repeatedly enters the field of play without covered shin guards then the player will be issued a yellow card for dissent.
Duration of the Matches
1. Each game will consist of two, 27-minute halves, with a 3-minute break between halves, unless otherwise noted on the schedule.
Yellow-Card
1. A player that receives a yellow card must leave the field of play immediately.
2. The yellow-carded player must remain off the field of play for 10 minutes (note: the time will carry over to the second half, but won't carry over to the next game.)
3. If a sub (from the team's roster) is available, the substitute may replace the yellow-carded player.
4. A player that receives a second yellow card in a match will be issued a red card (see below).
Red-Card
1. A player that receives a red card must leave the grounds immediately (allowing only enough time to pick up personal belongings) and quietly (without further disruption). Failure to do so can result in an additional red card (see below for consequence of two red cards in a session).
2. If a sub (from the team's roster) is available, the substitute may replace the red-carded player.
3. The number of games suspension for a red-carded player will be decided by a disciplinary board where the default is a 1 game suspension. However, there may be situations where shorter or longer suspensions are more appropriate. For example, longer suspensions (2 or more games, or being banned indefinitely from the league) will be appropriate in cases of dangerous or unsportsmanlike play.
4. A player that receives two red cards in a session (spring, summer, or fall) is suspended from playing in all remaining matches for the current session and, at the discretion of the League Coordinator and/or Recreation Center Director, may be banned indefinitely from the league.
5. If a suspension falls on the last match of a session (spring, summer, or fall), the suspension will carry over to the next session that the red-carded player participates in. For example, if a player receives a red card in the last match of the spring and receives a 2-game suspension, the player will not be able to play in the first 2 matches of the next session the player plays in.
Alternate Player
1. An Alternate Player may be assigned by the league coordinator to a team when all the teams within the division (Serious/Competitive or Relaxed/Just-for-fun) have the same number of players on their roster. For example, if four of six teams in the Serious/Competitive division have 13 players and the remaining two teams have 12 players on their roster, then an alternate player will NOT be added to a team’s roster until the remaining two teams have 13 players on their team (that is, priority is given to filling the rosters first with full-time players before adding someone as an alternate player).
2. An Alternate Player, like a fulltime player, must be registered and listed on a team’s roster on the website before the player is eligible to play.
3. An Alternate Player, like a fulltime player, shall only play on their assigned team, as indicated by the rosters on the league’s website.
4 An Alternate Player shall only play in a game when all of the following conditions apply:
a. the Alternate Player is eligible (as defined above) and not currently suspended (due to a red card), and
b. two or more players from the same team will not be able to play in the game (if only 1 player will be missing then an Alternate Player isn't used), and
c. the captain has emailed the league coordinator in advance of the game to inform that the Alternate Player will be playing and which two players will be gone.
Infringements/Sanctions: If an Alternate Player plays ineligibly (per above) then the sanctions for an ineligible player apply with the addition that the Alternate Player will be removed from the team's roster.
5. An Alternate Player is subject to the same yellow-card and red-card rules. So, for example, if an Alternate Player receives a red card and is given a two game suspension then the Alternate Player will be ineligible to play in the next two games.
Points/Standings
1. A scrimmage game (if scheduled) will not count towards the league standings.
2. For “regular season” matches, 2 points are awarded for a win, 1 point for a draw, and 0 points for a loss.
3. The Regulation Standings are determined first by total points earned during regulation play. If there are one or more tie groups (where a tie group means two or more teams with the same number of total points) then the ties within each tie group are broken by the following (in sequential order of first used to last used, with “head-to-head” meaning only the tied teams within the tie group. NOTE: Once a tie is broken, the method to break the remaining ties within the tie group starts over in the list): head-to-head points, head-to-head goal differential, head-to-head goals for, total goal differential, total goals for, coin toss if no regulation matches remain (NOTE: If more than two teams remain tied at this point then a coin toss will be made for each pairing of tied teams to determine a coin toss standing which will be used to break the ties. If there are ties amongst the coin toss standing then these ties will be broken by repeating the coin toss criterion until no ties exist).
4. A team forfeiting a match receives 0 points and 0 “goals for”. The winning team is credited with the largest of 3 “goals for” and the number of goals it scored at the time the match was forfeited.
5. A match canceled (different from forfeited – only the league coordinator or head ref may cancel a match) in the second half will use the current score as the final score. A match canceled in the first half (or before the first half begins) may be rescheduled or entered as 0-0, at the discretion of the league coordinator.
6. Playoff matches (if scheduled) will not end in a draw (tie). If the score is tied at the end of regulation time, two 5-minute sudden-death overtime halves will be played. In this case, the team that scores first wins. If a goal is not scored in this time, penalty kicks will be taken by players present on the field at the end of overtime in a “best of 5” shoot-out to determine the winner. If the shoot-out results in a tie, the match will be decided by sudden-death penalty kicks where both teams are allowed a penalty kick and the winner is the team scoring an unmatched penalty-kick goal. A player is not allowed to take a second penalty kick (during the best-of-5 or sudden-death) until all the players present on the field have kicked a penalty shot.
Remember,
this is a recreational league with players of varying skill and experience
levels. Please play for fun.