MISBEHAVIOR POLICY
Any member(s) of Beecher Hills Soccer Club, Inc, whether player, coach, referee, spectator or other person, who behaves in a manner which either forces in interruption in a match, interferes with the normal operations of the facility in question, damages property, engages in contact with other individuals, or any other behavior that is deemed to cause a disturbance or damage to other individuals or physical items must come before a Discipline & Protest committee to address the situation. The individual(s) will be notified by US Mail of the D&P committee investigation, as well as a time and date of the next meeting. They will be asked to attend a meeting, no sooner than two weeks from the date of the letter, to discuss the situation. Alternatively, they may write a letter and return it to BHSC by US Mail to present their side of the discussion. Any other form of contact will be discounted and considered unacceptable for purposes of this policy. Investigations by the D&P committee will, at the least, get written statements by witnesses and if possible, by those involved, prior to sending the letter. The D&P committee will then issue a ruling on the incident within 1 week from the time of the meeting. The individual will be notified by US Mail, with the exact nature of the ruling, any punishment meted out and the duration clearly indicated on such. This information will be entered into the minutes of the next board meetings. In the case of serious offenses, the Board reserves the right to call the local authorities immediately and ignore any conflict that might arise with regard to the rest of this policy.
Referee Assault and Abuse Policy
Misconduct toward game officials (referee and linesman) is a serious offense and is under the governance of the GYSA, USYSA, and ultimately USSF and FIFA.
Below is a condensation of the rules regarding misconduct toward game officials taken from the USSF Referee Administrative Hand Book.
Misconduct against referees may occur before, during and after a match, including travel to and from the match...
“Referee” includes the following: USSF referees and linesmen, any non-licensed referee and linesman serving in an emergency capacity, and/or any club linesman...
Assault includes but is not limited to, the following acts committed upon a referee: hitting, kicking, punching, choking, spitting at or on, grabbing or bodily running into a referee, the act of kicking or throwing any object at a referee that could inflict injury, damaging the referee’s uniform or personal property, i.e. car, equipment, etc...
Referee abuse is a verbal statement or physical act which implies or threatens physical harm to a referee or the referee’s property or equipment.
Abuse includes but is not limited to, the following acts committed upon a referee: USING FOUL OR ABUSIVE LANGUAGE toward a referee, spewing any beverage on a referee’s personal property or verbally threatening a referee.
Infractions involving abuse and assault of officials are heard by the Discipline and Protest Committee of the GYSA. Penalties for abuse and assault range from suspensions from 3 scheduled games to 5 year suspensions! In addition, the referee may take actions against the offender through county and state laws. These penalties apply to players, coaches, and spectators. (An appeal process can be instituted).
BHSC urges all players, coaches and parents to be respectful toward game officials. Infractions of these rules will be dealt with by the BHSC Executive Board and D & P Committee and other appropriate actions may be taken.
Please allow all coaches and team captains to handle all communications with officials.
Any problems with referees are to be handled through the BHSC Board of Executives or the GYSA Referee Department.
Because referee abuse is on the rise, our association is requiring each team to be responsible for assigning a Field Marshall for ALL home games. Duties of the Field Marshall will be outlined in our Parents/Coaches meeting.
The Board of Directors thanks you for your cooperation in helping our club be a safe and enjoyable place to recreate.
