INDOOR SOCCER RULES AND REGULATIONS

PLAIN TOWNSHIP PARKS & RECREATION DEPARTMENT DIAMOND INDOOR SPORTS COMPLEX INDOOR SOCCER RULES AND REGULATIONS The Plain Township Parks and Recreation Department has revised the rules and regulations for Indoor Soccer at the Diamond Sports Complex, effective immediately. Please help us by complying with this policy. If you have any questions concerning these revisions, please contact the Plain Township Parks and Recreation Department. RULE # 1: THE BALL a) The referee shall approve the ball used in the game and is not to be held responsible for the ball during or after the game. b) If the ball becomes defective during the game, a new ball shall be obtained. The ball shall be dropped in the location of the previous ball when the game was stopped, unless it is appropriate to restart. RULE # 2: PLAYERS AND SUBSTITUTION a) There shall be two teams that include the following: i. U-12 & Lower: six (6) field players, one (1) goalkeeper, size-four (4) ball; ii. U-14: six (6) field players, one (1) goalkeeper, size-five (5) ball; iii. U-18, Boys, Girls, and Men: five (5) field players, one (1) goalkeeper, size-five (5) ball; iv. Coed Divisions: three (3) female field players, three (3) male field players, one (1) goalkeeper, and size-five (5) ball. NOTE: If a team does not have enough players, a woman may replace a man on the field; however, a man may not replace a woman. There may never be less than four players on the field for either team. b) Teams will remain the same numerical strength, regardless of goal differential. This does not include when a player is ejected for a Red Card. Do not play a player down as a Courtesy as this is looked at as an insult by the losing team. c) Only (2) coaches and the players participating in the game are permitted on the side lines. d) Only coaches and players who are participating in the Indoor Soccer Tournament are permitted on the field before, during half time or after the game. e) The referee may delay the restart of play to allow completion of substitutions on the following occasions: i. When the ball is out of play; ii. At any unique stoppage given by the referee. 1

f) There is a twenty-second time limit to complete a player substitution. A warning will be issued for the first offense, followed by a team time penalty for each violation thereafter. g) The offending team s coach shall designate a player from the field who will serve the time penalty for any of the following offenses: i. Excess number of players on the field; ii. Playing without a designated goalkeeper; iii. Illegal substitution of goalkeeper; (more than one goalkeeper on the same team at the same time) iv. Delay of substitution after a twenty-second warning; h) The referee may stop time and resume the time by utilizing the game clock if the referee decides the substitution delay is being used as a tactic merely to run out the clock against the spirit of the game. RULE # 3: PLAYERS EQUIPMENT a) No jewelry or accessories may be worn on the field, with the exception of religious or medial bracelets or necklaces. Company manufactured shin guards are mandatory, must fit properly and may not be altered. Socks should also be worn over the shin guard. Only shoes that have been designed for use on artificial surfaces may be worn. Hard casts must be approved by the referee and shall be used appropriately. b) Goalkeepers shall wear colors that distinguish themselves from the referee and all other players. Any field player who replaces the goalkeeper must wear a goalkeeper jersey. Protective headgear is allowed if it is approved by the referee. c) A player that is sent from the field of play to adjust or correct his/her equipment may not return to play until he/she has the referee s approval. Any player who violates this rule will be issued a time penalty. RULE # 4: THE REFEREE a) The referee s jurisdiction begins when they enter Diamond Community Park and ends when they leave the property. The referee shall keep a record of the game. b) The referee s authority for penalizing extends to offenses when play has been suspended or when the ball is out of play. Referees decisions on all matters of the game are FINAL! There shall be absolutely NO PROTESTS! Referees have the authority to: i. Stop the game for any infringement of the rules, and to suspend or terminate the game due to poor behavior of the players, coaches, spectators, or any other cause he/she feels that the stoppage is necessary. ii. Penalize any player, coach, or personnel guilty of misconduct; Caution any party for unsporting behavior; and, if they persist, 2

eject that guilty party from that game. Any player that is sent off is to be reported to the building supervisor that is on duty. Depending on the severity of the misconduct, he/she may be banned from other activities at Diamond for the remainder of that day. The Plain Township Parks and Recreation Department personnel will handle any other disciplinary measures. iii. For insurance reasons and for the safety of others, we do not allow persons to enter the field of play at half or after the game, unless they are a player that has signed a waiver. iv. To deny any player to participate, that is not on a team roster and or has not signed a waiver form. v. Require each youth team to have at least one coach or manager (min. age 18). This person must be responsible for the conduct of his/her players on and off the field and demonstrate mature demeanor. vi. Stop the game if a player has been injured. The player should be removed from the game as soon as possible so that the game may resume. The game clock will continue to run during any injury stoppage. vii. Eject a player if he/she is guilty of any of the following: a) Violent conduct or serious foul play; b) Insulting, foul, or abusive language; c) Persistent misconduct after receiving a warning; d) Denying an obvious goal scoring opportunity; e) Spits at an opponent, official, or Parks employee. f) Taunting, opponents, referees, spectators and Plain Township employees An ejection report must be filed with the facility. The party ejected may sit upstairs in the mezzanine, if he/she is calm and courteous. He/she may choose to leave the Diamond Sports Complex. The game may not resume until the ejected party has exited the playing area. viii. Signal for play to restart after all stoppages. The referee is required to blow the whistle for the following: a) Kick-offs; b) Penalty kicks; c) Corner kicks; d) After a guaranteed substitution; e) Restarts from the center of the yellow line. ix. The referee controls the game clock on the scoreboard or by his/her watch when the scoreboard is inoperable. 3

RULE # 5: DURATION OF THE GAME a) A regulation game shall consist of a maximum of twenty-eight minutes in length with a two-minute interval between games. Referees may include a thirty-second warning before starting. b) A two-minute interval shall be provided between games. If the teams are not ready to begin after all procedures have been followed, the referee and the Parks and Recreation Department personnel have the right to start the clock. RULE # 6: THE START OF PLAY a) The home team shall always kick-off first. After the referee s whistle, the player shall take a place kick from center field. All opponents must be at least ten feet from the ball and outside of the center circle. The kicker may not play the ball a second time, including instances where the ball bounces off the ball perimeter wall and back to the kicker, without first having touched another player. A goal may be scored from a kickoff. b) After a goal has been scored, the game will restart with a kickoff by the opposing team. c) After the end of each half, each team shall change sides, and the team that did not take the kickoff prior to the start of the game will start the second half. d) For any violation of this rule, the kickoff shall be retaken except in the case of the kicker playing the ball a second time before it has been touched by another player. For this offense, a free kick shall be taken by the opponent. NOTE: for players playing in the U-12 leagues and below, if a violation of this rule occurs the kickoff shall be retaken. e) When restarting play after a stoppage for any cause not mentioned in this policy, the referee should drop the ball at the place where it was when play was stopped. Play shall resume when the ball hits the floor. Any drop-ball restart that occurs in the penalty area shall be dropped at the top of the arc. f) After having given a signal to do so, a team has six seconds to put the ball into play. Failure to restart within six seconds shall result in a possession turnover to the opponent. If this occurs on a goal-kick restart, the opponent shall restart the ball from the center of the yellow line. 4

RULE # 7: THE BALL IN AND OUT OF PLAY a) The ball is in play, at all times, from start to finish and until the whistle is blown: i. If it rebounds from a goal post, crossbar, or off the perimeter wall into the field of play; ii. If it rebounds off a referee who is in the field of play; iii. If a rule is violated, play shall continue until a whistle is blown. b) The ball is out of play: i. When it has completely crossed the perimeter walls or contacted the perimeter netting surrounding the sides of the field. Play will be restarted on the side of the boards at the point where the ball left the field; ii. When it has made contact with the building superstructure or lights above the field of play. If this happens, play will be stopped and a free kick shall be awarded to the opposing team. This will take place where the ball went of play. iii. The referee has stopped the game for any other reason. RULE # 8: THE METHOD OF SCORING a) A goal is scored when the whole ball has passed completely over the goal line, between the goal posts, and under the cross bar. The ball may not be thrown, carried, or intentionally propelled by the hand or arm of a player of the scoring team, unless done so by a goalkeeper who was within his/her own penalty area. b) A goal shall not be allowed if the ball has been touched by some outside agent from passing over the goal line. If this happens during the normal course of play, other than at the taking of a penalty kick, the game shall be restarted with a dropball. c) Championship Games: The top two teams in each division will advance to a Championship Game, if scheduled, and the division is not playing a round robin. The two teams will be determined by the teams having the most points according to the scoring rules and then by the tiebreakers. d) Scoring Rules (in pool play): i) Points: Games will be scored according to the following: 3 points for a win 1 point for a tie 0 points for a loss 5

e) Tiebreakers: In preliminary round play, if one team forfeited a game, they will automatically be considered losing all tiebreakers. Other ties will be broken according to the following: head to head results between tied games fewest goals against goal difference goals for playoff team shootout with three players selected by the team and in accordance with the Playoff Overtime Shootout rules provided in the rules f) Forfeits: A forfeit shall be scored as 5-0. g) Playoff Overtime: i. Golden Goal: Playoff overtimes shall consist of one 3-minute golden goal overtime period with a coin toss to decide kickoff/direction. The first team to score in overtime is the winner. ii. Shootout: If no team has scored in the 3-minute overtime, the winner shall be decided in a shootout with a coin toss to decide team kicking order. Visiting team shall call the flip and winner shall pick to shoot first or second. Three players from each team remaining on the field at the end of the overtime period will be the only players to kick for their team. These three players will rotate, alternating teams with each kick. The first round of shootouts will consist of each player kicking once (round of three players shooting per team). The team with the most goals after the first round will be considered the winner. If the score remains tied after the first round of penalty kicks, the same three players will alternate in the same order in a sudden death penalty kick format until one team scores and the other doesn t. RULE # 9: THREE-LINE VIOLATION a) Anytime the ball is kicked completely over three lines, toward the opponents goal by the offensive team, a three-line violation shall be declared. The game shall restart with a free kick for the opponents at the center of the field. b) The goalkeepers are permitted to kick and/or throw three lines as long as they are within their respective penalty area. 6

RULE # 10: FOULS, MISCONDUCT, TIME PENALTIES, AND EJECTIONS a) Any player who carelessly, recklessly, or with excessive force commits any of the following penal offenses is guilty of committing a foul. The opposing team shall receive a free kick from the point at which the foul occurred. i. Kicking or attempting to kick an opponent; ii. Tripping an opponent; iii. Encroachment towards an opponent; iv. Pushing an opponent; v. Making contact with the opponent before contact is made with the ball; vi. Carrying, striking, or propelling the ball with one s hand or arm; (does not apply to the goalkeeper in his/her own penalty area); vii. Boarding or propelling an opponent into the perimeter wall. NOTE: A time-penalty must be given for boarding; two-minute blue, fiveminute yellow, red card or out for the remainder of session. viii. Playing in a manner that is considered dangerous by the referee; ix. Charging fairly with the shoulder, but the ball is not within playing distance of the players concerned; x. Slowing the progress of an opponent by running between the opponent and the ball, or interposing the body so as to form an obstacle to an opponent when not playing the ball; xi. Charging the goalkeeper anywhere within the penalty area. xii. Sliding to gain possession of the ball. NOTE: Second or more occurrences of sliding for the ball to gain possession by the same team in that game will result in BLUE CARD and a 2 minute hard foul. b) Any player in possession of the ball may not carry the ball back across the yellow line in order to play the ball to the goalkeeper s hands. The player may pass the ball to the goalkeeper, but they may not use their hands until an opponent plays the ball. If this rule is broken, the opponent will receive a free kick from the center of the yellow line. A player is NOT permitted to play the ball to their goalkeepers hand even if possession remains on the defensive side of the yellow line. PART A: A minimum of two-minute penalty, with the maximum of expulsion from the tournament will be issued to any players guilty of the following offenses: i. Boarding; ii. Verbal or physical dissent to the referee or Parks Department employee; iii. Taunting; iv. Persistent infringement of the rules; v. Illegal substitution; vi. Delaying the restart of the game; vii. Encroachment; viii. Any penal offense in a reckless manor; ix. Not returning to the bench after verbal command from referee. 7

The guilty player will be required to leave the field of play and sit for the full twominutes. This two-minute penalty is a HARD time penalty, meaning the offending team will be short the entire two-minutes. NOTE: If a goalie receives a two-minute penalty, then he/she must sit out for two minutes. This also applies for a five-minute penalty. PART B: A player who is guilty for repeating any of the above offenses will be issued a five-minute time penalty. This five-minute penalty is also a HARD time penalty. If a player receives a five-minute penalty, they are required to leave the field for a period of five minutes while the game resumes without them. If the opposing team scores, that player may not be allowed to re-enter the game until the entire five-minute penalty is completed. PART C: Intimidation, boarding, fighting are acts of violence that adversely affect the game of soccer. The referees at Diamond Sports Complex are asked to assign penalties on a sliding scale, which is designed to deter deliberate, aggressive behavior. A player that commits a serious foul will be given a Red Card and asked to leave the area immediately and not return to the playing surface or team bench. Play will not restart until that player has left the area and his/her team will play short of one player for 5 minutes of the game. The following offenses will result in an immediate Red Card: i. Fighting; ii. Third person into already proceeding fight; iii. Any player off the bench during proceeding fight; iv. Violent conduct; v. Serious foul play; vi. Using offensive, insulting, or abusive language; vii. Has already been issued two time penalties; viii. Slide tackling to dispossess an opponent of the ball; ix. Spitting on Field; x. Any penal offense with excessive force; xi. Bicycle kick. NOTE: Spitting at an opponent, spectator or Township employee will result in suspension for the remainder of the season. Throwing the ball at an opponent, spectator or Township employee will result in suspension for remainder of session. Any player that is sent off, and issued a Red Card will be subject to serve suspension for the remainder of game and tournament. Note: Parks & Recreation Parks Department will have the authority suspend a player for the remainder of the tournament and/or next session, if the Soccer Supervisor or Referee can articulate the severity of the Red Card. Examples: boarding from behind or threatening comments or gestures made to any player, coach, referee, employee, or spectator. Grabbing, holding, or touching a referee, soccer supervisor or employee and conduct that would be considered aggressive in nature. 8

RULE # 11: FREE KICK REGULATION: a) When play has stopped for a penal foul listed in Rule # 10, and the restart does not call for a penalty kick, play shall be restarted with a free kick by a player of the opposing team. b) When a player is about to take a free kick, all opponents shall be at least ten feet away from the ball until it has moved into play. The ball must be stationary when the free kick is taken and the kicker shall have six seconds to play the ball after being signaled to do so by the referee. c) Failure to put the ball into play within six seconds of the referee s signal will result in a possession turnover to the opponent. When this occurs, such a possession turnover shall become a guaranteed substitution occasion. d) On all kicks that are not penalty kicks, shootouts, or kickoffs, the ball shall be deemed in-play when it has been touched. The player taking the kick may not play the ball again until another player has touched it. e) All free kicks are direct. RULE # 12: COED RULES: a) Participants for Coed Soccer must be 19 years of age, or older. Management has the right to question any player or team regarding this issue. b) All Coed teams will play with three men, three women, and a goalkeeper of either gender. c) Male participants are allowed a two-goal maximum. d) Corner and goal kicks and after any foul may be taken by any player on the field. Kicks after the ball travels out of bounds in the attacking 2/3 s of the field, must be taken by a female. e) Male or female players may take any penalty kick that is awarded. f) A Red Card will be given at the discretion of the referee, for any aggressive foul committed in Adult Coed: boarding, flagrant elbows, slide tackling, etc. g) A Red Card will also be awarded for spitting on or off the playing surface and if a player attempts a bicycle kick. h) The preceding rules are additional to those house rules that are already in place at Diamond Sports Complex. i) If a player receives a red card. That team will be down one player of the same sex for 5 minutes of the game. 9

RULE # 13: CONDUCT/POLICIES WHILE INSIDE COMPLEX: Conduct Before, During and After Indoor Soccer Games: a) The uses of radios/boom box are prohibited inside the Sports Complex. Personal, portable walkman-style units are permitted. b) No one is permitted beyond the chain in the southeast corner of the building. c) No spitting, gum chewing, or wearing jewelry while on the indoor field. d) Children under the age of twelve years whom are not participating in a soccer game within the Sports Complex must be accompanied by an adult at all times. e) Children/adults are not permitted to run, play, or bounce balls downstairs, upstairs, in hallways or on the mezzanine. f) The Plain Township Parks and Recreation Department promotes the game of soccer in a fun, fair, safe, family environment. All Diamond Sports Complex users, including spectators will be asked to demonstrate courtesy and sportsmanship prior, during and after all games. Todd A. Alexander Parks & Recreation Director (330) 499-0000 talexander@plaintownship.com www.plaintownship.com 10