To: All Fox Chapel Referees
From: Hans Reppermund
Date: August 2007
Re: Referee business
Dear Officials,
Thank you all for continuing to be active participants in Fox Chapel Youth Soccer. Without your involvement, no games would be played. Hans Reppermund will be assigning referees for Sunday travel games and Jolie Spindler will schedule Saturday in-house games.
In an attempt to make things a little easier for everyone, we will be trying things a bit differently this season. As there seems to be too much uncertainty with both the soccer schedule and referees’ personal schedules, we will not ask for specific availability information ahead of time this season. For both Saturday and Sunday games, we will post our assignments early in the week each week assuming everyone is available, unless you have communicated to us ahead of time that you have issues with availability on certain days or at certain times every week (i.e.; “I cannot work Saturdays,” or “I cannot work the 12:30 game Sundays”). If you know you will have availability constraints such as these on a regular basis, please communicate that to us ASAP (These can always be adjusted later if necessary upon you request). Once we post the assignments and you respond to us with either confirmation that you will be able to do your assigned games or that you cannot, we will then adjust the assignments if necessary. This system should eliminate the need for referees to find your own subs under most circumstances, except perhaps a very last minute need. In that case you should make every effort to find a sub of your own Referee Grade or higher (remember Grade 8 is higher than Grade 9) and one who is 2 years older than the age of the players in the game. This is especially important if you are assigned to be the Center Official.
We will be doing our scheduling and communication almost exclusively by e-mail and through the new website www.fcays.org. Most of the information you will need will be posted to this website and for a little while longer will be accessible via www.foxsoccer.org, which is being phased out. However, Referee Sub Lists and pay information will not be available on-line for security reasons. We would like to stress that these lists, which include officials’ names, addresses and phone numbers, should not be shared with anyone. For this new system to work, it is imperative that you check your e-mail early in the week and regularly for changes, preferably daily. If communication by e-mail will be a problem for you, please call and let us know.
We have been instructed by PA West to be sure 3 officials are assigned to all games. It is important for us to follow our new procedure, as follows:
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Assignors prepare and post a schedule. This may be done in advance, but will be done predominantly week to week early in the week.
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Referees check e-mail and the web early in the week (Monday and Tuesday) and either confirm or turn back any games they are unable to officiate as soon as possible. If a referee confirms but at the last minute finds he/she cannot meet his/her obligation, the referee must notify the assignor and may be asked to find a replacement of his/her same Referee Grade or higher.
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If these steps are not taken, and a referee fails to show for his/her assigned game, the referee will be docked one game’s pay for each game missed.
If despite the above procedures and assignments, you still find yourself at a game without a full complement of officials, you should approach the home team coach and ask him/her to find a spectator to help run the touchline. These volunteer assistants will call only out of bounds balls and give direction on who should throw in the ball.
Sunday game formats remain as follows:
· U10 -- 7 v 7; Two 25 minute halves
· U11 & U12 -- 9 v 9; Two 30 minute halves
· U13-U19 -- 11 v 11; ~U13/U14 Two 35 min halves
~U16 Two 40 min halves
~U19 Two 45 min halves
In-house, Saturday game format remains as follows:
· U9 & U10 -- 7 v 7; Two 25 minute halves
Important PA West rule changes which continue to be in effect are as follows:
Substitutions: Effective immediately…substitutions are permitted at any stoppage in play at all levels of the game, in-house through classic. The player must be at the midfield line ready to enter the game at the time of the stoppage to be eligible for substitution.
Exhibitions: Travel teams are now permitted to use a player or players (same age group or younger) from another team within that club for a scheduled game, but the game’s designation would be changed from a league game to an exhibition game. The team would be required to provide a proper line-up card and player passes for all players, a roster would not be required. The line-up card would be marked “exhibition” and the game would be counted as a game played toward league/division requirements. All suspensions from red cards issued during an exhibition match carry to the next league match and exhibition games cannot be used to serve a suspension. U10’s and younger will not be permitted to play up.
Please note -- This years amendments to the Laws of the Game are posted to the web. Please read these over and be aware, even if some do not apply to games most of you will be officiating. Important rule changes are outlined in News & Announcements with links to both USSF memoranda on rules and the new, updated 2007/2008 FIFA Laws of the Game. Some old and new rule change/clarification highlights are as follows:
- Slide Tackles: On slide tackles, a send-off (red card) and direct kick will be assessed if a slide tackle is made from any direction (not just from behind), which in the opinion of the referee, endangers the safety of an opponent. In other words, treat as “serious foul play” regardless of the direction from which the slide tackle comes.
- Throw-ins: Opponents must stay at least 2 meters (a little more than 2 yards or 7 feet) from the thrower until the ball is in play. This should not be an issue during Saturday play.
- Offside: is determined by the head, body and feet, not the arms. In addition, FIFA now provides explicit definition as to what constitutes “interfering with play,” “interfering with an opponent” and “gaining an advantage by being in that position.” Please check under News & Announcements or FIFA Laws of the Game and scroll to Law 11 for the specific definitions.
- Undergarments: must be the same color as the uniform.
This Spring FCAYS games are tentatively scheduled on the following fields:
Saturday U9 & U10 Boys -- Middle Road, Rear Field
U9 & U10 Girls -- Emmerling Park
U9 & U10 Boys & Girls -- McCahill Park
Sunday U10 &U11 Boys & Girls -- Middle Road
U10 Boys & Girls -- Emmerling Park
U11-U19 Boys & Girls -- Rte 910/Indiana Twp Building
Dorseyville Middle School
Middle Road-Upper
Beulah Frey Park (Boyd CC)
In the interest of continuing our high level of professionalism, the following are general guidelines to follow:
· Be prepared with all necessary equipment.
· Arrive at your first scheduled game at least 15-30 minutes before game time. Check that the goals are properly aligned, securely fastened and nets are in good repair. Inform the home team coach if any repairs or attention is needed.
· Introduce yourself to the coaches and check all players’ shoes, uniforms and for jewelry before game time. NO jewelry, including earrings, bracelets, necklaces or rings, may be worn by any player. Taping over pierced earrings is not acceptable. All jewelry must be removed. Shirts must be tucked in.
· Instruct players on both teams about offside calls, fouls that will be called, and those fouls that may not be called because of advantage. Remember, in-house play is meant to be instructional and your comments and explanations before and during play are appreciated.
We are happy to report that the FCAYS Board has approved a pay increase for our officials. An updated pay scale is included in this mailing or will be e-mailed shortly. Remember that FCAYS uses black jerseys only and PA West is reminding us that our referees should not be wearing basketball shorts or anything other than solid black.
Fortunately, we have not had many problems with referee abuse. But in an effort to be proactive, all Fox Chapel coaches have been informed that the FCAYS board has a “no tolerance” policy towards referee abuse. Coaches are responsible for their own behavior as well as that of their players and spectators. Comments made by coaches, players and spectators towards referees and other players that are negative, demeaning or derogatory in nature should be dealt with by first calling a stoppage of play, where depending upon severity, a verbal warning or caution should be issued. If a spectator(s) is the problem, the coach should be asked to control the offending individual(s). If comments continue, the offending coach/player/spectator should be expelled. If the coach is unable or unwilling to control himself or the offending spectator(s), the game should be terminated. Please, remember not to be baited into an argument with anyone. Report any incidents to the Referee Assignor immediately. Saturday Report Forms will be provided to you and are available on-line for downloading. For Sunday travel games a PA West Report Form needs to be filed for all cautions, send offs and injuries within 48 hours of the game. This report form can be downloaded from www.pawest-soccer.org/ and should be sent directly to PA West. Please call Hans if you cannot access the form or need help filling it out.
All this being said, bear in mind that FCAYS wants to promote an enjoyable experience for the home and visiting teams, as well as the officials. Therefore, we ask all referees to relax, remain low key, and be considered with a pleasant demeanor. Thank you in advance for your commitment to Fox Chapel Area Youth Soccer.
Looking forward to a great season,
Hans Reppermund
412-767-4448 (H)
412-296-1361 (C)
u_make_the_call@pittsburgh-usa.net
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