MISSISSAUGA BRANCH GUIDELINES for REFEREES

PREAMBLE A: The Referee Should be Dedicated to Player Safety.

Referees are subject to a lot of pressure from players and coaches to allow players to play who have suffered head trauma or who are wearing non-standard equipment, such as braces, casts, and hats. Despite this pressure, referees must keep in mind that their primary responsibility is to ensure the safety of all players, and that is is especially important when dealing with youth.

At present, the only things a referee can use to support his judgement are:

Pressure is exerted upon referees because there has been lax enforcement of these provisions of the Laws in the past, and because there are no generally accepted standards, and no guidelines as yet issued by the O.S.A. to assist referees in evaluating the risks posed by certain equipment or by head trauma.

Thus a referee who considers a brace, for example, to be dangerous is put in a very difficult position when he declares that a leading scorer cannot play with a brace. He inevitably hears "but the ref last week let her play with it!"

To fill this void, and assist referees in exercising their judgment as to the safety of non-standard equipment, and the wisdm of playing a concussed player, the Mississauga Branch has prepared guidelines for the enforcement of Law 4.

We hope that these guidelines will enhance consistency in referees' decisions on equipment safety, which in turn will lead to improved safety for all players, and less controversy when a referee must make a decision to refuse permission to wear certain equipment, or insist that a player not play due to injury.

 

Part A -- Guidelines for Enforcing LAW 4 for Safety

A-1:- Safety of Equipment

  1. CASTS: Referees are advised that a player's need to wear a cast is a clear indication that prior injuries have not healed, so this player remains at increased risk of further injury. Furthermore an injury may be concealed by the cast, thus putting the player at still greater risk.
    For these reasons, it is advised that referees not allow players to play with casts.
     
  2. KNEE BRACES: Referees are advised that knee braces with external rigid structural parts (metal, plastic or other hard material) pose a potential risk to other players during tackles and challenges for the ball.
    The referee must examine such devices carefully to reach his conclusion about the (non-)safety of the device, keeping in mind the potential of injury to other players. The official should look for protruding hardware which is hard (eg. steel) or sharp. If such parts are padded, the official should be convinced that the padding will in fact stay in place during play, and be convinced that the padding will be effective in a collision with another player.

    Ask yourself:
       
        *    "Would I be hurt in a sliding tackle by this player if his/her brace were forced against my leg or knee by the force of a sliding tackle
                when one of us falls on the other?

        *    What kind of reaction will there be if this player injures another?

    The official should also consider the reality that the wearer has a pre-existing injury, making him/her susceptible to further injury (see CASTS, above), and this is inherently unsafe. For this reason, the referee should also consider whether the player should be allowed to play at all, even without the brace. At the least, it might be advisable to emphatically warn the coach and player that he/she would be at increased risk of injury.
     
  3. JEWELLERY: Referees will ensure that players respect the "no jewellery" requirement of Law 4. (This includes all earings, and anything in which another players hand or fingers might become entangled in a collision.) This step is taken because no such "equipment" is permitted under Law 4, and because jewellery is a potential source of injury to all players. 

A-2:- Head Injuries

There is increasing evidence that head injuries and permanent brain damage are associated with soccer - not just accidental collisions, but also repeating heading of the ball. Some competitive-minded coaches want to play players who have suffered a concussion, and this risks permament brain damage.

Heading the ball is enough to lead to serious brain injury. As reported in the Toronto Star, on November 12, English professional soccer player Jeff Astle died at the age of 59 of long term brain inuries caused by years of heading the ball

The Mississauga Branch of the OSRA encourages all referees and coaches to adopt the guidelines set by the Ontario Brain Injury Association, and already adopted by the Canadian Hockey Association, namely:

Even mild confusion indicates a 1st-degree concussion.
Any unconciousness means a 2nd-degree concussion.
Any concussion means the player should LEAVE THE GAME
then see a doctor & not play for 24 hours
after ANY HEAD INJURY involving any evidence of
confusion, disorientation, any loss of conciousness, or worse.

Part B: The Referee Should be in Control.

B-1:- Appropriate Dress for Players

  1. No player should be permitted to participate in a match while wearing a bandana, hat or headband. An allowance may be made under extreme circumstances for a goalkeeper to wear a hat.
    This recommendation is in place because bandanas and headbands are being used to wear "colours", which in today's society can lead to misconduct and violence. The wise referee prevents such situations.
  2. Referees will ensure that players respect the dress code requiring that shirts be tucked in, socks pulled up, and sleeves unfurled. This is the way equipment is to be worn under Law 3.

B-2:- Appropriate Conduct

  1. Referees will demand that substitutions be conducted in accordance with the procedures contained in Law 3. This step is taken because of the consequences that could occur should conflicts arise during the substitution.
  2. Law 3, Board decision 2 requires team officials to remain within the technical area "and they must behave in a responsible manner".


    It is expected that Mississauga Referees will not accept abuse from team officials. We also expect that Mississauga Referees, despite abuse from the bench, will maintain their professional dignity while dealing with the matter.

Part C -- Professionalism

C-1 - Knowledge of the Local Rules

Every club and league has customized rules for each age group. It is the referee's responsibility to apply the FIFA Laws as modified by the local rules.

Before your game, consult the growing summary of the local laws for leagues and clubs in an area centered on Mississauga.

C-2 - Referee's Dress

A referee's dress can make all the difference -- "clothes do make the man".

Your ability to control the game and the noise and static from the sidelines is affected by your appearance and demeanour. So too, is the reaction of other referees you meet at the game. They will form a first (and maybe lasting) impression of you by your appearance.

Standard dress in Ontario is the standard black uniform: black shirt with OSRA or OSA badge, matching black shorts - no stripes, black socks with 3 stripes, black soccer shoes.

Mississauga Branch has one standard alternate shirt - yellow. It is for limited use: on super-hot days, or when black would make the referee hard to distinguish.

The OSRA hat is the only hat that may be worn, and only when justified by many hours in the sun, doing the line facing a low sun, or if wearing glasses in the rain.
 

*Revised July, 2000