SJSL Protocols for Referees

Revised 12/13/23

1. Player and Coach Passes:

1. All players and coaches must have US Club passes dated for this seasonal year. No pass – no play – no exception.

2. All passes must have US Club ID #s.

3. All passes must include the SJSL logo. If the logo is missing, they may not participate.

4. There are no waiver forms.

5. All participants must produce a physical pass or a virtual pass (PDF is not an accepted Virtual Pass)

2. Match Cards:

1. Both teams must submit a physical copy of their Match Card—no Match Card – no play – no exception.

2. A copy of the team’s US Club roster is NOT an acceptable substitute for the Match Card.

3. is no guarantee that the rosters on both Match Cards will match since it will depend on when the Match Card is printed and when a coach has made a roster change/correction.

4. ALL Match Reports and scores must be submitted to the league by 48 hours after the match has been played using the gotsport.

5. All yellow/red cards indicated on the Match Card must include the appropriate caution and sending-off code.

6. The coaches may NOT write on the Match Card other than to correct the occasional jersey number or to line out a player or players who will not be participating. Again, no exception.

7. Club Pass players may not be handwritten on the Match Card.

8. If the referee names are not preprinted on the Match Card or incorrect, please fill in the correct names and positions.
9. Match Card size limitations are as follows:

U8-10: 14 players; U11-12: 16 players; U13 and above: 18 players

If a U11 and above team has more than the game day size limitation number of players printed out on their Match Card, they may (and have to) line out the necessary number of players to reach the above limits.

10. Players or coaches lined out as printed on the Match Cards by the Gotsport system are suspended and may not participate in the match or be on the players’ side of the field.

11. All players and coaches must have US Club passes for this seasonal year, with ID#s beginning and including the SJSL logo. If the logo is missing, they may not participate. The Match Card information must match the pass information.

12. It does not matter how the column on the Match Card for player pass numbers is labeled (US Club #, Player ID #, etc.). If the player numbers are US Club pass numbers. 

3. Club Pass Players

The SJSL Club Pass Policy replaces the guest player system previously used. Please do not submit guest player requests because they will not be honored. Club Pass players (from now on, “CP”) will constitute a small pool of predesignated players that a team may use to fill out their roster, either as needed or on a more full-time basis. The intent of this policy is not to provide a way for teams to stretch low player numbers. Instead, it is a program to allow clubs to give players additional touches in game situations and to provide teams that utilize CP Players a bit of continuity among their players.

The following rules apply to the Club Pass Player policy:

1. Teams must have enough players on a roster to field a team before using CP players.

2. All players sought to be added as CP players must play for that same club, playing on another team in the SJSL for that same season.

3. The players should be added to the team’s Primary Player List as CP players on the Fall 2022 SJSL Event Roster.

4. Teams may add to their Fall 2022 Event Roster a maximum of 3 CP players at any time for each small-sided team (U8-U12) and a maximum of 4 CP players for full-sided teams (U13- U19).

5. Players listed as CP for team club passes in the SJSL Fall 2022 Event are not on the primary rosters used for tournaments. If you enter a tournament, you should ensure you follow their guest playing rules.

6. CP players must wear a matching uniform for the team they are playing with. If there is a duplicate jersey number, the coach may take steps to correct this, but having the CP player wearing a duplicate uniform number will not preclude that player from participating in the match.

7. CP may play under the following age guidelines:

1. CP players may play up on an older-aged team if the request conforms to the league’s Playing Up rules. See R. 3005.
2. Players primarily carded to an older team may be included as CP players for an age-appropriate team.

8. If a CP player is not going to play in a particular game, the player must be crossed off of the Match Card for that game - just like if a regular player is not playing.

The above rules are subject to revision by the SJSL Exec Board and will be posted here.

4. Rules

13. SJSL game rules are published and are available on the league website.

14. League game rules are summarized on the current Fact Sheet.

15. Substitutions: Unlimited substitutions are permitted at the referee's discretion.
16. For the current season, the league IS utilizing the changes made to the FIFA Laws of the Game, effective June 1, 2023, except as modified by the league.

17. Coaches entering the field of play to approach the referee at any time without expression permission after the start of the match may be red-carded and removed from the game.

18. SJ Cup and Winter Cup matches will follow the regular league rules unless expressly stated otherwise.