Referee Guide

1. Know all the Laws of Soccer, especially the definition of a goal, when the ball is in and out of play, how to restart play in all situations, and all the fouls and associated penalties.

2. Have the top section of your game report form filled out before you come to the field.

3. Begin the game and each period promptly at the correct time. If the game before yours is running late, shorten your quarters equally, if possible, to be back on time.

4. Blow your whistle loudly to stop play for fouls or ball out of play. You need not whistle when the ball is clearly out of play. Blow your whistle to restart play only for the taking of a penalty kick, or for a free kick after the kicking team has asked you to move defenders away from the ball.

5. Record all goals and red and yellow cards on your game report form. Also note the ending times for periods if you do not have a stopwatch.

6. To judge goals and offside fairly, you must keep up with the play. This means you will have to run up and down the field, especially in an A/B division game. To ease the pace, try to anticipate the game's flow, e.g. move towards midfield when the goalkeeper is about to punt. Be careful on goal kicks, however; they often come right back at the goalkeeper.

7. Always take the time to explain each foul, etc. to the player involved and to answer any questions about the rule involved.

8. Players, coaches, and spectators must accept referee decisions without complaint. Do not tolerate any dissent. Caution offenders the first time and eject them for a second offense. Coaches may come quietly out on the field at half time and between quarters to talk to the referee if they have complaints. Try to be understanding to stop problems before they happen.

9. It is up to the referees to find a replacement for themselves in case they are not able to referee their scheduled game. Only if unable to find a substitute should they call the referee assignor.

10. Referees are expected to be at the playing field at least 15 minutes before the scheduled game time, to make sure that all pre game preparations are attended to. A person from each team should help put up and take down the goal nets.

11. Referees must keep track of the game ball, assistant referee flags, corner flags and nets at the end of the game.

12. Put your completed referee report form for each game in the envelope in the equipment box after each game or give them to the referee commissioner or referee assignor. This is our only way of knowing how many games you have worked in order to determine your pay.

13. Lock the referee boxes after you remove the nets before the beginning of the game and lock them after you replace the nets at the end of the game.

14. During the Fall season, do not have games end in darkness. Shorten the quarters as the season progresses, especially on overcast days.