A message from Ryan Niderno, Vice President and Referee Assignor for Tolland Soccer Club
Parents, Coaches, Members of TSC
As we begin the Fall Season, I want to share with you, and ask you read carefully, the following message from CT Junior Soccer Association. In an effort to combat ongoing issues with sideline behavior, CJSA and the CT Referee Program has given specific instructions to referees regarding the Zero Tolerance policy.
Note that unsporting behavior from spectators will lead to being asked to leave the field, and the game will be suspended indefinitely if they do not comply. Coaches will be subject to Caution (Yellow Card) and/or Send-off (Red Card) if they engage in unsporting behavior or refuse to deal with spectator issues. Any of these issues will also be subject to further action taken by either TSC, CJSA, or both.
Tolland Soccer Club fully supports the Zero Tolerance policy below, and will support our referees in making sure we are Giving the Game Back to the KIDS.
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Give the Game Back to the KIDS
In an effort to eliminate violent and inappropriate behavior in the youth game environment, the Connecticut State Referee Program has asked CJSA for help at the association, league, and club levels to implement a “Give the Game Back to the KIDS” initiative.
In the youth game environment, referees are advised that dissent is a comment, or compilation of comments that is/are personal (Hey Ref…), disruptive to the game, and public in delivery (meaning someone heard it). Because there are thousands of forms of dissent, it’s easiest to say “We can’t describe it, but we all know it when we hear or see it”. At its most basic level, dissent is expressing an opinion that is different from an official position
Below are a few examples of dissent. This is not an all-encompassing list, and are just a few of the many examples available:
– Hey Ref: that was a foul; that was a handball; call it both ways; what are you watching; that’s not a penalty; etc.
– Repeatedly questioning calls regardless of the tone of voice, a sarcastic clap or thumbs up, waiving the arms up and down in a ‘what was that’ motion.
– Trying to become part of the referee’s decision-making process from the technical area.
Coaches with legitimate questions should politely ask the referee if it’s okay to approach and ask a question. Spectators should never cross the field boundary lines to approach a referee before, during, or after the match.
With this in mind, the CSRP is instructing all referees to use the following protocols:
ZERO TOLERANCE
Spectator Misbehavior
Stop the game, bring the coaches to the center circle, ask them to identify the person, and have the COACH have the person(s) leave. If the coach does not comply, or if the person does not leave, do not restart the game. Leave the field as a team, contact your assignor, and report the situation in the game report or the referee abuse app. REFEREES DO NOT ENGAGE WITH SPECTATORS
Coach Misbehavior
At the first sign of dissent, do not talk to the coach. Show the caution (yellow card). If it continues, do not talk to the coach. Show the caution; since it’s the second one, follow that with a send-off (red card). If the coach does not leave, do not restart the game. Leave the field as a team, contact your assignor, and report the situation in the game report or the referee abuse app.
The above protocols are not administered arbitrarily, they are taken directly from the book from which referees receive their training.
“Whether decisions are right or wrong, the ‘spirit’ of the game requires that referees’ decisions must always be respected. All those in authority, especially coaches and team captains, have a clear responsibility to the game to respect the match officials and their decisions” – 2024/2025 Laws of the Game, page 11
Should you have any questions in regards to how the referees will be handling dissent please email [email protected]
Connecticut Junior Soccer Association (CJSA)
www.cjsa.org
Thank you,
Ryan Niderno
Tolland Soccer Club