Zero Tolerance for Referee Abuse

The West Lincoln Youth Soccer Club is a strong supporter of making sport safe for our youth. Over the last couple of years, Verbal abuse directed towards referees has been a particular problem. Accordingly, the West Lincoln Youth Soccer Club has set up the following program to help ensure the safety and enjoyment of all.

Policy

Any coach, parent, grandparent or guardian judged by the WLYSC Discipline Board to be guilty of abusive conduct towards a game official during a WLYSC House League game will be reprimanded in writing. A second conviction, during the same season will result in the member being restricted from all services rendered by the Club including attendance at all soccer activities within the Club. In extreme cases, as determined by the Discipline Board, a member may be reinstated subject to a review hearing.

Policy Procedures

When a game official feels that they are being abused, as per the scope of this policy, by either a coach or fan, the official will be allowed to suspend the playing of the game. If the abuse is physical, the game official is advised to inform the coaches that the game has been abandoned and then proceed with step 1.1.

The official will then verbally advise both coaches that the game has been stopped due to the abuse and inform both coaches as to the source of the abuse. If the source is one of the coaches, the official will advise the coach that the next occurrence of a similar nature will result in an abandonment of the game and that a report to the WLYSC Discipline Board will be sent in for review. If the source is a fan, the appropriate coach will provide the official with the name of the fan and the coach must advise the fan that the next occurrence of a similar nature will result in an abandonment of the game. Further, a report to the WLYSC Discipline Board will be sent in for review. If the fan is not associated with either team, both coaches are asked to speak to the fan and as the individual to leave.

Once the prescribed action in step 2 has been completed, the game will restart with a dropped ball between the two teams at the location where the play was stopped.

If the abuse continues, the official will be allowed to stop any further playing of the game and advise the coaches that the game has been abandoned and that a special incidence report will be forwarded to the WLYSC Discipline Board. The official must clearly indicate on the game sheet that the game was abandoned due to abuse.

1. The game official must contact either their Referee Coordinator or a member of the Executive to verbally report the incident within 24 hours.
2. A Special Incident Report, with the assistance of the Referee Coordinator or a member of the Executive, if required, must then be forwarded to the WLYSC within 72 hours.
3. The WLYSC Discipline Board will then review and deal with the report as per their guidelines.
4. If the game was abandoned due to the conduct of a fan not associated with either team, the Executive will determine the status of the game.