Procedures

Red Cards OLD

The referee has the responsibility to enforce the Laws of the Game from the moment he appears at the field before the game, until he leaves the area surrounding the field after the game. The referee can send off a player for violating a number of provisions of Law 12. During the game, the referee is obligated to show the red card to a player that is being sent off. The referee should but does not have to show the red card to a player for a send off offence before or after the game.

Credentialed adults are not sent off, but expelled. A red card should not be shown to anyone other than a player or a substitute. Coaches or other credentialed adults can be expelled for the behavior of spectators. Credentialed adults are also warned - the equivalent of the caution represented by a yellow card. A yellow card should not be shown to anyone other than a player or a substitute.

Below the term 'red card' refers to the send off of a player or the expulsion of an adult and an actual red card may not have been shown. The correct terminology is 'send off' for the player and 'expulsion' for the credentialed adult.

What Happens When Someone Gets A Red Card?
How is the pass returned to the player or team official?

• The person's pass is confiscated by the referee.
• The referee completes a Send-Off Report (an explanation of what happened and why the red card was given) and mails the pass to the CCSL Coast Section Disciplinary Chair.
• The CCSL Coast Section Disciplinary Chair determines and posts the appropriate penalty or suspension and sends the pass to the individual's home league president.
• The team may retrieve the pass from its League President once the suspension is served.

For games involving teams playing in the CCSL the Referee Coordinator is appointed by the District. Send off reports are filed on line at the www.d2sra.org website.

For games involving teams registered in the Redwood Junior Soccer League (RWL), the Referee Coordinator is listed on the website. Referees should mail the player pass and Send-Off Report promptly to the address listed on the RWL website.

For what can you get a red card?

A player can receive a red card for:

• Serious Foul Play. This incldues a penal foul committed with excessive force or a tackle that endangers the safety of an opponent.
• Violent Condcut. Against anyone, including opponents, teammates, spectators, adults, and referees.
• Spits at anyone. Spittle contact is not a requirement.
• Denies an obvious goal scoring opprtunity by handling. Typically, stopping the ball from entering the goal with your hand.
• Denies an obvious goal scoring opportuity by fouling. The referee judges the distance to the goal, the distance to the ball, the number of defenders and the direction of play to determine if it was an obvious goal scoring opportunity.
• Abusive or foul language or gestures. If it can be publicly heard and especially if it is directed at someone, the referee can sanction the individual.
• Receiving a second caution in the same game. The referee will show a yellow card and then show a red card. There are many technical infractions of the Laws of the game where the Referee is required to issue a caution.

The referee must choose one of the above violations of Law 12 to send off a player. The referee can include details about other conduct as part of the send-off report. If the referee makes a mistake (sends off the wrong player, sends off for a second caution when there was no first caution), the referee CAN NOT rescind the decision to send-off. The referee can include the details in his send-off report.

Team officials are sanctioned for irresponsible behavior or for bringing the game into disrepute. This is a much broader category. Clearly if a team official does any of the above they will be expelled.

How Are Suspensions and Penalties Determined?

The suspension and other penalties will be determined by the CCSL Coast Section Disciplinary Chair, based on CYSA guidelines, historical data, and common sense. Incidences of assault will be handled by CYSA.
The minimum lengths of suspensions are listed in the CYSA-N Specific Rules Section 4:05

CCSL Coast Section Red Card Suspensions Posting

Click here to see a listing of all send offs given in CCSL Coast Section this season. Please allow 48 hours for the send off to be posted. This is where the length of a suspension (typically number of matches) is posted.

The team manager should have the referee sign the Red Card Sign Off Form for each game the player or coach is sitting out to document that a suspension has been served. Suspended players should not be in the team uniform, but may be in the bench area.

When the suspension has been served, the Red Card Sign Off Form should be returned to the Registration League President (or designee) and the individual's pass will be available for retrieval.

Each Registration League has their own procedure for verifying suspensions and returning passes. Each Registration League or Club can increase the suspension.

Red Card Sign Off Form

This is probably the worst scenario, because the return path of the player pass can really get muddled. If the red card was given at a tournament, the game referee will give the player pass to the Tournament Referee Coordinator, who will give it to the Tournament Director. That's 3 people handling the player pass already. At the end of the tournament, the Tournament Director should mail the player pass to the District 2 Commissioner. District 2 should mail the player pass back to the RWL President who then will forward it to the RWL Referee Coordinator.

If the red card was received during D2 Spring League play, the send-off report and player pass are sent to the Spring League Referee Coordinator. Eventually, everything is forwarded to the RWL Referee Coordinator for administration of the suspensions.

Red cards issued during scrimmage games ('friendlies') played with uniformed referees and players' passes are handled in the same way as cards issued during league and tournament games: the passes of carded players are confiscated. Some referees will not referee a 'friendly' without player passes. To reduce the risk of unnecessarily losing the services of team members during a practice session incident, coaches may want to consider a more casual method of officiating scrimmage games. If the red card was received during a practice game (scrimmage or friendly), the send-off report and player pass might be sent to just about anybody, but should be sent to the RWL Referee Coordinator. Eventually, everything is forwarded to the RWL Referee Coordinator for administration of the suspensions.

Any player, coach or team official who receives 2 (two) red cards in Coast and Bay Spring league matches season shall be suspended from ALL league matches for the remainder of the Spring season.

The procedure is the same, although the consequences are much harsher. Coaches, assistant coaches, trainers, and managers are typically expelled for irresponsible behavior.

Each District, Registration League and Club can establish what 'Suspended" means.

In District II (Teams registered in District II), 'suspended' means that the team loses the benefit of your services during the suspension period, including any active participation in (1) weekly practices, (2) pre-game warm-ups, or (3) pre-game, half-time, or post-game strategy/evaluation sessions. You may NOT sign game cards prior to games. You may NOT check your team in at tournaments. If you, as a suspended team official, are also a parent, you ARE permitted to observe your child in the role of a spectator. To avoid any mistaken observations, it is recommended that individuals serving a suspension bring a chair and remain quietly seated at all times during games. Suspended team officials that are not also parents should not attend games - even as spectators.

Whether a Coach or TeamStaff suspended while representing Team A, can continue to associate with Team B is determined on the Registration League or Club level.

It is unlikely that a referee would find it necessary to give a red card to an entire team, however it has happened.

Teams accumulate red cards. A coach will be asked to appear before the appropriate disciplinary committee when a team has accumulated 3 or more red cards. Redwood League has adopted additional sanctions (see Playing Rules) for teams and individuals that accumulate red cards.

Can A Spectator Get A Red Card?

Only individuals with CYSA passes (players and team staff) can get a red card (player) or expulsion (credentialed adult).
If a spectator (child or adult) is not controlled by the team staff, the referee may either (1) abandon the game, or (2) issue a 'warning' or 'expulsion' to a team official.
It is the team officials' responsibility to control spectators.

Can a Player play in Match without a player pass?

No

Can a team official without a pass be in the technical area before, during or after a match?

No

What are the restrictions on a coach when serving a suspension?

CYSA District 2 has adopted the following guidelines:

1. Coach can continue practicing with team.
2. Coach can not warm-up team at a match.
3. Coach can not speak to players at half-time at a match.
4. Coach can not use any electronic communications devices to speak to other team officials at a match.
5. A forfeited match does NOT count towards a match served.

Can a match be protested?

For the CCSLCoast Spring see the Rules 10.3
Incorrect application of the Laws of the Game by a referee are the only grounds for protest.

Can decisions based on referee judgment be appealed?

No.

From Law 5 of the Laws of the Game

The decisions of the referee regarding facts connected with play, including whether or not a goal is scored and the result of the match, are final. The referee may only change a decision on realizing that it is incorrect or, at his discretion, on the advice of an assistant referee or the fourth official, provided that he has not restarted play or terminated the match.

Can Suspensions be appealed?

Yes, we 'know' that the red card was undeserved. And, that this is the first card he/she has ever received. And, that the referee was biased, incompetent, blind, and obnoxious. And, that everyone saw it differently. And the other player involved deserved the card. And, that the referee never moved from the center-circle. And, that even the coach on the other team came over to tell you that the call was wrong. And, that the referee was the father of one of the players on the other team. Theoretically, you can appeal the decision of anybody in CYSA. From a practical standpoint, there isn't much sense in appealing a few suspensions, because the appeal process can take a month or more. All the while, someone in CYSA has the player pass, and nobody is going anywhere. Whatever the reason, appeals should be limited to longer suspensions (e.g., a coach receiving a year-long suspension).

If you do appeal, make sure you understand the process and the deadlines. Appealing without paying the appropriate fee or after the deadline has passed is often ineffective.

See The Specific Rules of CYSA-N #4:05:01
"... Only penalties above the the recommended CYSA minimums may be appealed."

Leagues and Districts honor the suspensions imposed by other leagues and districts. If you are suspended, transferring to another team, league or district will not expunge your suspension.

From the description of the process, it should be obvious that it might be a very long time before a player pass is returned, especially for tournaments outside of District 2. The passes are often mailed to the wrong persons. Passes spend a lot of time in the mail. And, some passes become 'lost' forever. Referee Coordinators (and other people within the process) might not let you expedite the process by picking up player passes from their houses. Getting a pass back in time for it to be useful can be a nightmare. Each level of review can also assess an additional penalty. Passes that travel through more than one person can often accumulate suspensions in excess of the minimums.

To speed up processing of red cards, you can help ensure that the pass gets sent to the right person by having a pre-addressed, stamped send-off envelope for the referee. Address

Red cards typically result in 'lost' games greatly in excess of the number of suspensions. Although 'minor' red card events may be assessed a 1-game suspension, it is not unlikely that the player will not be able to play for 3 games. The player might have a 1-game suspension, but his/her next game is an away tournament, with no way to get the player pass until after the tournament. It doesn't do any good to rant about this, because it's just the way it is.

Here are some ideas if you want to find out how long coaches who cheat are suspended. Like, forever.

The most common 'cheat' is to play a player after the required number of suspensions has been served, but before the player pass is returned. Don't do this.