Law Information
AYSO games follow
FIFA (international soccer) Law very closely, with only a few
changes to adapt to AYSO's philosophy (e.g. controlled substitution to
ensure that "everyone plays") and, at the youngest age levels, to adapt
the game to the physical and mental maturity of the
players. All AYSO referees should have a copy of the current AYSO
edition
of The Laws of the Game, which contains both the FIFA Laws and
AYSO's
modifications to them. The Region 26 Referee's Handbook also
contains most
of this material.
Changes to the Laws of the Game
In 1997, FIFA completely revised and rewrote the text
of The Laws of the Game, for the first time since 1938.
This year,
thankfully, the changes were much more modest.
The official AYSO Summary of
this year's changes by Bill Mason and the USSF
Memorandum which covers this year's changes (found in the
Referee section of the USSF web pages)
are now available.
The official text of the
Laws of the Game is available on-line from FIFA in PDF format, so
you will need to download
Adobe Acrobat to view them.
A chronological list of the changes to The Laws
over the years, including the 1997 rewrite, can also be found at FIFA
as History
of Laws of the Game .
"Advice"
The Laws of the Game are very terse. They
assume a general knowledge of how the game is played and they do not
delve in depth into obscure cases. For many years, the additional Law
material that addressed these cases was scattered and often quite hard
to find (c.f. The Diagonal article Beyond The
Laws of the Game); some was printed in the back of old (pre
1997) Law books. Today, there are several important documents
that draw this material together for the referee.
The first is AYSO's Interpretations,
Instructions and Advice for Referees. This booklet covers
mainly the material from the back of the old Law books and some
additional AYSO guidance. It is available from AYSO directly (but only in hardcopy)
and is distributed to all Palo Alto AYSO referees at clinics.
The second source is USSF's 2001 edition of
Advice to Referees on The Laws of the Game which is
available as a .pdf file, and in hardcopy from USSF. Despite the
similarity in names, this is a much more comprehensive document,
designed to gather together nearly all of FIFA and USSF's supplementary
guidance in one place. As such, it is an essential reference
for the advanced referee.
The third source is the updated 2000 version of FIFA's
Questions and Answers to the Laws of the Game. This
publication gives answers to questions frequently asked about each of
the Laws.
AYSO Rules of Competition
Most of AYSO's Rules of Competition and modifications
to the Laws are printed into the AYSO edition of The Laws of the
Game (and are also included in the Region 26 Referee's
Handbook). The full
text of AYSO's Rules
and Regulations and Policy Statements
from which these come can be found, along with other official AYSO
documents, at AYSO's Rules, Policies, and
Guidelines page. Some of these are in PDF format, so you will
need
Adobe Acrobat to view them.
Age Differences
Players 9 and older (in the U10 division and above) use
the full FIFA Laws (although U10 children play on 7 player teams on
reduced
size fields). Under-7 and Under 8 teams play on an even smaller
field, with
a simplified set of Laws
for the Younger Divisions. Under-7 and Under-8 teams are made
up of 4 players; Under-9 teams are
made up of 5 players. Under 6 games are not formally officiated
at
all; instead they are "facilitated" by their team coaches.
Under-11 and above games are run using the "diagonal" system (center
referee plus two assistant referees) with neutral center referees. A
parent may be an assistant referee in his or her child's game. Under-10
games are also officiated using the diagonal system, with parent
referees, using either a three referee or two referee team (plus one
"club linesman"), depending on the number of referees available.
In U11 and U12 there are 9 players on a side; in u14 and up there are
11.
Under-7 through Under-9 games are officiated by a single parent referee
from one of the two teams. More information on referee
assignment in the various age brackets can
be found in the referee
FAQ's
.
Substitution Rules for Under-19 and Under-16 Games
Unlike many youth soccer leagues, AYSO limits
substitutions to make it practical for the referee to ensure that
"everyone plays" at least
half the game. Substitutions are therefore only allowed at half
time and
at two "substitution breaks" midway through each half. However,
in Under-19 and Under-16 games, "free" substitutions are allowed in the
fourth "quarter," provided that the players involved have already
played at least half the
game. Details of the rules governing free
substitutions can be found here and in the Region 26 Referee's
Handbook.
Player "Passes" for Under 19 and Under 16 Games
For inter-regional play in U16's and U19's,
Area
2A does not require the use of player ID cards.
Under 10 Rules
The full Laws are used for Under-10 games, with two
changes.
First, the U10 Divisions use fields which are reduced in size.
Second, U10
teams consist of 7 players, rather than the full-sized teams of 11 used
in
the older divisions.
Also, each U10 team is required to provide a certified Regional
referee
for each game for which they are the home team. For more details,
please
see Under 10 Rules
.
Under-7, Under-8 and Under-9 Laws for Region 26
Most AYSO regions adapt the Laws significantly for
U7-U9
players. Unfortunately, such ad hoc changes can leave
players, coaches
and parents without a single reference source as to what the rules
actually
are. Palo Alto publishes a self contained set of Laws of the Game for the
Younger Divisions for use in this Region. They can also be
found in the Region 26 Referee's
Handbook and are distributed to U7-U9 coaches and referees at the start
of each season.
Player Equipment
Both The Laws of the Game and the AYSO Rules of Competition prohibit players from
wearing anything that, in the opinion of the referee, may be dangerous
to either themselves or another player. Because disputes about
the danger of specific items keep arising, Region 26 has issued a
list of prohibited
items. Items not on this list may also, of course, be deemed
dangerous by the referee on the field.