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Rules & format

 

 

The SDL views officials as role models for players and educators of the game to parents.  We actively seek to have well-qualified, diverse officials officiate SDL games so that players can better identify with you.  As such, we demand a high level of professionalism, courtesy, and patience – you should review the code of conduct for officials by clicking here.  If your interest is not in spreading the enjoyment that you have for the game to these very talented and motivated kids and their parents, then please look to referee elsewhere.  That said, we can guarantee that you will be challenged and that you will find it rewarding to be out there with a group of youngsters who are developing a love for the game and who someday, perhaps because of what they see in you, will take up officiating.   

 

 

SDL Referees

 

FIFA Laws of the Game will be applied to all age groups except as identified below:

  1. Field size, markings and goal size will be modified for age appropriateness as determined by the SDL Commissioner and field provider
  2. U10 play 11 v 11, U9 play 9 v 9, U8 and 7 play 7 v 7 (e.g., six field players plus the goal keeper)
  3. Except for the U10 division, where in consultation with our advisory board U9 teams are not permitted to play up, teams may request to play up one division and should be age pure and able to play up at a Level 2 level of development.
  4. U10 teams may play with as few as seven players and U9, U8, U7 may play with as few as five players; it is allowable for the opponent to provide additional players to the other team if they are inclined to do so – the emphasis being on playing and development
  5. Ball Size is #3 for U7, if available, and #4 for all other age groups
  6. Home team will change in the event of a color conflict
  7. U10 and U9 games will consist of 25 minute halves and a five minute half time
  8. U8 and U7 games will consist of 22 minute halves and a five minute half time
  9. Offside will be called in all age groups
  10. Generally, there will be no retaking of improper throw-ins, though the referee may give consideration to the age, level of development and cycle of the season
  11. U10 and U9 age groups will be officiated by two officials using a dual system
  12. U8 and U7 age groups will be officiated by a single referee
  13. If a red card is issued to a player, the offending team is permitted to continue play at full strength, but the offending player is not permitted to participate further in that match and may be suspended from additional games by the SDL Commissioner after consideration of the referee’s report
  14. A club may share players across age-appropriate teams within the restrictions placed on teams playing up in age
  15. Each team will bring a game roster, any player loan forms, and each player’s SDL US Club Soccer waiver form for verification prior to the game by the other team’s manager
  16. Parents are required to sit opposite the players and coaches and on adjacent fields; parents are not to be intermingled with teams from the other field
  17. Coaches are responsible for the conduct of their parents and will be asked to remove a parent from the area of the field if the referee believes there is a need to do so; before the parent’s child may participate in a following week’s match, the parent must complete at their cost the Positive Coaching Alliance’s 2nd Goal Parent Workshop and fax a certificate of completion to the SDL Hotline (866.204.1939); further action may be taken by the SDL Commissioner after consideration of the referee’s report
  18. Players are not permitted to wear jewelry and shirts must be kept tucked-in; prior to the start of the match the referee will ask that players line up along the touch line for inspection and will inform the coach of any issues; coaches should use this opportunity to clarify any rules and substitution procedure
  19. U10 substitutions will occur from the halfway line during any stoppage of play by the team in possession; at the referee’s discretion, the team not in possession may be allowed to substitute when the team in possession does
  20. U9 and younger age groups are permitted to substitute on the fly. The preferred procedure is for the substitute to stand behind the touch line at the halfway line with a colored practice jersey in hand to be given to the exiting player before stepping on the field of play; any interference by the substitute player with play will result in an indirect free kick to the opponent where the ball was in play; substitutions during out of touch stoppage by the team in possession or at goal kicks should be limited to changing goal keepers; referees have final discretion on any changes to the above suggested procedure