In May of 2024 US Soccer amended Policy 531-9 – Misconduct Towards Game Officials in Amateur Matches, expanding the definitions and provisions of what constitutes both Referee Abuse & Assault. A corresponding 531-9 Penalties Matrix was issued detailing the recommended penalties for violations of 531-9. Members may find both documents in PDF format on the link above.

 

On March 1, 2025, US Soccer issued an additional Referee Abuse Prevention (RAP) Summary which goes into greater detail and gives examples of what is defined in Policy 531-9 and the Penalty Matrix. The RAP Summary has also been added in PDF format on the link above.

 

In December 2024, the NYSWYSA Zero Tolerance Policy was also updated and incorporated additional elements of current US Soccer Prohibited Conduct Policy & US Soccer 531-9 RAP. This document and its corresponding Penalty Matrix also appear in PDF format on the link above.

 

How Does This Affect Your League, Club & Game Environments?

 

These updated policies, Referee Abuse Prevention (RAP) & Zero Tolerance, now require mandatory reporting and action by member Leagues, Clubs & affected Referees.  Each League should have an established disciplinary and penalty/fine structure in place for policy violations and reporting.

 

These policies, in conjunction with each other, affect Players, Coaches, Staff, Volunteers, Spectators & Referees so please read all the updated documents carefully.

 

This reporting mechanism must include a notification to NYSWYSA of said policy violation in a timely manner.  The affected League, Club or Referee District should have a specific designee who will liaison violation reporting with NYSWYSA Risk Management staff. All violation reports must be emailed directly to riskmanagement@nyswysa.org.  Failure to report an incident could result in additional sanctions. Questions and requests for clarification should also be directed to riskmanagement@nyswysa.org.

 

If a member League or Club requires assistance in establishing a disciplinary and/or reporting process for their organization, please contact us. We would be happy to assist you in implementing these changes for your organization.