Referee Abuse Prevention
AYSO National Rules, Regulations and Policies have been amended to adopt the US Soccer Policy 531-9 by incorporating the policy and penalties into AYSO’s pertinent governing documents:
§ Coaches, Referees, Officials, Other Volunteers, Spectators, Team Members and Other Participants must prohibit and abstain from making negative comments and complaints about officiating. Any abuse, assault and/or gross misconduct directed at any match official will be disciplined in accordance with U.S. Soccer Policy 531-9 Misconduct Toward Game Officials in Amateur Matches, which policy is effective March 2025.
§ Penalties/sanctions would range from several games to a lifetime ban depending on the severity of the offense.
§ Offenses conducted against youth officials will be punished at 3x the penalty against an adult.
§ Referees should continue to process the misconduct reports in the same manner as before:
§ Misconduct reports for team members (players and coaches) and Incident reports for Spectators must include the following:
o Match details, including but not limited to team information, age group, score, and date
o Detailed statement about the incident, including the specific details of the behavior or action (i.e., assault, abuse, mistreatment)
o Specific language no matter how uncomfortable you may be writing it down
The report should be delivered to the Regional Commissioner, Area Director or Section Director, where the appropriate disciplinary actions will be determined.
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