COMPETITION RULES
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1. GENERAL RULES
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- Leisure Leagues Ireland and Ireland Socca accepts only upfront payments for any competitions. Payment is taken for full season and can be splitted for 3 instalments.
- Failure to appear on the scheduled date and time of the match does not release the team from the responsibility of paying the match fee.
- Teams must consist a minimum of 6 and maximum of 10 players
(full details must be provided before tournament - name, surname and date of birth).
- The team manager/ leader/ delegate must be in place at least 15 minutes before the start of the game to complete the team match card.
- There are no ball height restrictions.
- There is no offside rule.
- Slide tackles are not allowed. General sliding to control or stop the ball is permitted only if there is no opponent nearby.
Any danger tackle = yellow card!
- Substitutions are unlimited and may occur at any time during play, under the observation of the referee positioned at the halfway line. The exiting player must have left the playing area before the substitute player crosses the side line. If a player is injured they may leave the field from another point, but the player replacing them must enter at the halfway line upon authorisation of the referee. (Exact place for substitutions will be confirmed before tournament).
- Only the team captain has the right to speak to the referee in the case of controversy, every other player can be booked.
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2. THE BALL
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- The recommended ball is size 5: 69-71cm in circumference and 410-450g in weight.
- The ball is provided by Leisure Leagues Ireland and may not be changed during the match without the permission of the referee.
3. TIMING
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- Each game lasts 40 minutes with a short break in the half (2 x 20 min)
- There will be no stoppages in play unless there is a serious injury, foul or the ball become defective.
- The referee must add extra time to the game if it was interrupted due to injury, deliberate delaying etc.
- In order to avoid playing for time and speed up the game we are introducing the principle of "5 SECONDS". This means that after leaving the ball beyond the pitch a team that performs corner kick, throw-in or free kick should do it within 5 seconds otherwise will lose the ball and the game will be resume by opponent.
- If a team arrives more than 5 minutes late then they will forfeit the game and the opposition team shall be awarded a 3-0 win.
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4. CLOTHING
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- Jerseys or bibs should be in the same colour with numbers on their backs, the goalkeeper should have different colour from the rest of the team at all time.
- In the case that a goalkeeper is substituted for an outfield player, the outfield player must wear a different coloured jersey or bib to the rest of the team.
- Types of shoe allowed to play in all Leisure Leagues Ireland & Ireland Socca competitions: Astro Turf or Artificial Grass sole.
BLADES & STUDS ARE TOTALY PROHIBITED!!!
- Players are forbidden from wearing jewellery or any other items which may injure themselves or any other player.
- For safety reasons, all players must wear shin-pads, covered entirely by their socks.
- Referees will wear black or grey/silver to avoid colour clashes with participating teams.
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5. REFEREES
The referee has the authority to:
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Start, suspend and restart the game as appropriate for infringement of the rules, injury or other reason as they see fit
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Act as timekeeper, including adding extra time for any delays to the game
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Warn or take disciplinary actions against players for both on and off-field behaviour
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Ensure that no unauthorised persons enter the playing area
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Monitor the substitution process
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Exercise discretionary power
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Ensure that teams clothing and match equipment comply with the match regulations
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Keep a full record of all game details in the match report
6. RE-STARTS
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The ball goes out of play when:
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It has crossed the side or goal lines
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It hits any foreign object in the arena
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Play has been stopped by the referee for a foul, injury or any other reason.
- Throw ins are awarded when the ball leaves the field of play over the side lines, to the opposing team to that which last touched the ball.
- If the ball passes the goal line (but there was no goal) and the ball was last touched by the attacking team then the goal keeper must restart the game by a kick-off or throw in.
- If a goal is scored, play is restarted from the center of the pitch on the referee's whistle.
- If the ball passes the goal line (but there was no goal) and the ball was last touched by the defending team then a corner is awarded to the attacking team.
- A drop ball will be used to restart the game after a temporary stoppage, such as a serious injury, the ball bursting or the ball hitting a foreign object.
- If play is stopped because a player has fouled, play shall be restarted by a free kick by the opposing team. If the offence is committed in the penalty area, a penalty kick is taken from the penalty line at the place nearest to where the infringement occurred.
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7. SCORING
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- Scoring: Win = 3 points, Tie = 1 point, defeat = 0 points
- A goal is scored when the whole of the ball passes over the goal line, between the goal posts and under the crossbar, unless it has been thrown, carried or intentionally propelled by hand or arm by a player of the attacking side, the goalkeeper included.
- A goal may not be scored directly from a kick-off or a throw in.
- A goal may be scored directly from a corner, free kick or penalty kick.
- A goal may be scored if the ball goes directly from one goalkeeper to the opposing goal.
- If a match is drawn, and a winner must be determined, there will be three penalties from each side, which alternate in turn. This will usually apply to games at the knock out stages of a ISF tournament and not during the group stages, unless otherwise stated. A coin toss between team captains shall determine which team is first to take their penalty.
- If, before both teams have taken three penalties, one team has scored more goals than the other could score, even if it were to complete its three penalties, no more penalties are to be taken.
- If the teams still cannot be separated after the first three penalties then the game will go to sudden death penalties until a winner is found. The players taking the sudden death penalties must be different to the players who have taken the first three penalties. A player who has received a red card may not take a penalty.
- All players, except the player taking the penalty and the goalkeeper, must remain in the opposite half of the pitch to where the penalty is being taken.
- If a team are more than 5 minutes late to their match the result shall be 3-0 in favour of the opposition.
- If a team cannot play or continue to play due to injury, suspensions or red cards they will forfeit that game and the result shall be 3-0 in favour of the opposition.
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8. FOULS AND MISCONDUCT
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- A free kick shall be awarded to the opposing team if a player commits the following offences:
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Kicks, trips, strikes, holds or pushes an opponent (or similar)
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Slide tackles
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Plays in a dangerous manner
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Deliberately impedes the progress of an opponent when the ball is not being played
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Deliberately handles the ball (excluding the goal keeper)
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The player responsible for a kick off, free kick, throw in or corner touches the ball a second time before it is touched by any other player.
- All Free Kicks are direct.
- The free kick is taken from the place where the foul occurred.
- Free kicks are taken from one-step back and the player must not extend their run up beyond this point.
- The recommended distance between the ball and the opponents at a free kick is 5 meters. If an opponent is closer to the ball than the required distance, the kick is retaken.
- A penalty kick shall be awarded to the opposing team if a player commits any of the offences listed above inside their own penalty area.
- Penalty kicks are taken from one-step back and the player must not extend their run up beyond this point. The players, other than the kicker, should be outside of the penalty area, behind or to the side of the penalty mark, and at least 5 meters from the ball. If an opponent is closer to the ball than the required distance the kick will be retaken if no goal is scored but will not be retaken if the player scores. If a team mate is closer to the ball than the required distance the kick will be retaken if a goal is scored but shall not be retaken in the player does not score.
- A yellow card shall be awarded if a player commits the following offences:
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Danger slide tackle
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Persistent fouling
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Unsporting behaviour
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Dissent by words or action
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Failure to respect the required distance when play is restarted by throw in, corner or free kick
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Deliberately delaying the game
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Entering/ leaving the pitch without the referees permission
- A yellow card results that team will be reduced by one player for 2 minutes
(2 yellow cards = 1 game suspension)
- A red card shall be awarded if a player commits the following offences:
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Two yellow cards in the same match
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Serious foul play
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Violent conduct
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Offensive or abusive language
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Deliberately handles the ball when the opposing team has a goal scoring opportunity (excluding the goal keeper)
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Denies an obvious goal-scoring opportunity to an opponent moving towards the player’s goal by an offence punishable by a free-kick or penalty kick.
- A red card results in the exclusion of the relevant player for the rest of the game and their team will be reduced by one player for 5 minutes. The substitute who enters the field after the 5 minute period must not be the player who received the red card.
- A player who receives a direct red card will be banned from playing in the subsequent game within any Leisure Leagues / Ireland Socca tournament or competition.
- A player who receives a yellow card in two consecutive games is banned from playing in the subsequent game within any Leisure Leagues / Ireland Socca tournament or competition.
9. DETERMINE WINNERS
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- In the case that two or more teams from a group are equal on points, the team ranking shall be decided based upon the following criteria:
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‘Head-to-head’ record between the two teams in question in their group match.
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Superior goal difference from all group matches played by the teams in question.
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Higher number of goals scored from all group matches played by the teams in question.
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Lower disciplinary points total based only on yellow and red cards received in all group matches (red card = 3 points, yellow card = 1 point, expulsion for two yellow cards in one match = 3 points).
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Superior goal tally of the top goal-scorer of each team in question.
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Superior number of different goal-scorers of each team in question.
- MVP and Best Goalkeeper will be chosen by referees from the players participating in over half games of the league season.
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Any spelling errors are not a reason for overinterpretation.
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- Each player plays on their own responsibility!!!
The organizer is not responsible for any damage caused during the competition.
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THE RIGHT TO INTERPRETATION OF THE RULES HAVE ONLY ORGANIZER
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The organizer reserves the right to change the dates or times of matches.
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