POLICY AND PROCEDURE

Proposed: January 14, 2003

Adopted: March 11, 2003

REFEREE ABUSE

The following procedure applies to all parents, spectators, and coaches of Monroeville Soccer Club teams.

I. Reporting Abuse:

A. The Referee must report abusive behavior to the appropriate referee coordinator within 24 hours. The Inhouse Referee coordinator will be the contact for all U8 and U10 inhouse games. The Travel Referee Coordinator will be the contact for all Travel games.

B. The report must note date, time, and location of game, names of other referees working the game, as well as what actions constituted the abuse. The name of the abusive person if known. If the referee is unable to determine the name of the abusive person, enough facts need to be supplied so this person can be identified – general description, clothing worn, coach or parent, etc.

II. Researching Abuse:

A. The Referee Coordinator will research the facts of the report and determine if this incident requires further action. In some cases, what the referee understands as abuse, may or may not be abuse. It is the responsibility of the referee coordinator to talk to the referee making the report (and maybe the rest of the crew) and determine if this indeed is abusive behavior. The Referee Coordinator will categorize the report as described in Section III below.

B. The appropriate league coordinator shall always be informed of a reported abuse case after the Referee Coordinator has researched the issue. Even if in the judgement of the Referee Coordinator the case does not warrant club action, the league coordinator will be informed so as to keep the coordinator informed as to what referees perceive as abuse. For travel games, the appropriate league coordinator is the MSC Travel Team Coordinator. It is the intent of the MSC Board of Directors that the league coordinator will talk to the person and let them know that in some manner their actions were interpreted as abuse by a referee and remind them that we are here for the fun of the game.

C. If the Referee Coordinator believes there is sufficient cause to believe that the report is a case of referee abuse, the Referee Coordinator will submit a formal report to the President of the MSC Board of Directors.

III. Handling Cases of Abuse

A. The Referee Coordinator will determine the severity of the abuse. There are three categories of abuse:

· No Action Warranted

· Notify League Coordinator

· Notify MSC Board.

B. No Action Warranted: When the Referee Coordinator determines that no action is warranted, the appropriate league coordinator will be informed that a report was filed and investigated. This action is only required so the league coordinator is kept aware as to what is happening in their league.

C. Notify League Coordinator: When the Referee Coordinator determines that there is plausible concern that the actions that initiated the abuse report were interpreted as abusive behavior by the referee yet not severe enough to require MSC Board intervention, then the appropriate league coordinator will be informed. It is then the responsibility of the league coordinator to make sure that the individual is informed that their actions were interpreted as abusive behavior by the referee and kindly inform them to alter their behavior at the games. This action differs from No Action Warranted in that the referee coordinator has determined that the complaint has merit, where as No Action Warranted does not have merit but still requires that the league coordinator be informed.

D. Notify MSC Board: When the Referee Coordinator determines that the reported case is indeed abusive behavior, the President of the MSC Board of Directors will be notified immediately. The appropriate league coordinator will be informed but not until after notifying the President.

i. The first incident that merits notification of the MSC Board, pertaining to a parent, spectator, coach of a MSC player will require that individual being notified by a representative of the MSC Board of Directors. The notification must explain what actions were deemed abusive.

ii. A formal letter shall be mailed to the person informing them that in the event that a second abusive report be received by the MSC Board of Directors regarding this person, the resulting action will be immediate expulsion for all immediate family members from the Monroeville Soccer Club.

iii. If the reported incident is the second report for a person who has already been formally notified of their first offense, the Monroeville Soccer Club will immediately expel that person forever, and all immediate family members for the remained of the Club Fiscal Year. The President of the MSC Board of Directors will notify the individual personally.

iv. The expulsion may be lifted only by a majority vote of the MSC Board of Directors after two calendar years have passed since the expulsion date.

E. The Referee Coordinator will always report back to the referee and either advise the referee of the findings or council the referee should the case not have merit.