LEAGUE RULES ⚽️

Rules and Regulations

We, at Twilight Soccer League, encourage you to send us your comments, suggestions, and contribution if you so desire.

Remember, this is OUR league, your opinion matters.

Formerly French River League, Twilight Soccer League has gone through some changes to better serve our Central Mass soccer players who want to play competitively in the summer.

CMTSL reserves the right to make any changes that they deem necessary for the betterment of the league and its play.

II. ELIGIBILITY

A. All players must be High School Graduates or older to participate in the league.

B. All players must have signed the waiver/registration form and paid all fees before starting play.

C. All players will be subjected to ID checks before they can play in their first game of the regular season.

In addition, if the legality of a player is questioned the field supervisor can request to see a player's picture ID during any game of the season.

If the player does not have a picture ID on their person, they will not be allowed to play or finish the game.

This is an adult league where the expectations are people will have ID’s on their person or Cell Phone.

Illegal players are considered as such if they: don’t have proper ID, Not listed on the Roster, or have not registered appropriately with the league.

III. TEAM CONTACTS

A. Each team shall have an official contact person.

The contact must make certain that all team members receive all information distributed and are aware of the league rules.

B. The team contact is the spokesman for the team during the matches.

C. It is the responsibility of the team contact to call league officials for any concerns regarding the team.

League contacts numbers are:

Phone: 508-868-0248 and 508-479-4551

Email: markens71@gmail.com

dave.partridge@verizon.net

IV. PLAYING RULES

All rules will be governed by FIFA rules except for the local rules stated here.

A. Team/Roster :

1. All players must have signed the waiver/registration form and paid all fees before starting play.

2. Team rosters may not exceed 25 players.

3. Players may be added to your team up to the 2nd game of the season by noon that day.

B. Game Rules:

1. GAME FORFEIT Notice TIME is 3 PM.

All league officials and the opposing teams must be emailed and called by then. Referees will be notified by league officials.

2. Games will consist of two 45-minute halves with a 15-minute half.

Free substitutions, with the permission of the referee, can be made throughout the game.

C. Ties:

1. Any regular-season game that ends in a tie will remain a tie.

2. Any regular-season game that ends in a tie shall be counted as one point in the league standings.

V. OFFICIALS

The referee will have authority over the game and his / her decisions over goals scored, rules, etc shall be final.

Please respect their rights and work with them to ensure a well-played game.

1. There will be one official for any game.

2. Officials shall :

A. Make all decisions for infringement of the rules committed within or outside the boundary lines from

the beginning of the game to the end.

B. See that all kickoffs, free kicks, and penalty kicks are taken properly.

C. Act as timekeeper and allow the full or agreed time, adding any time lost through injury or other causes at

their discretion.

D. Will show caution or yellow card to any player/coach guilty of misconduct or unsportsmanlike conduct.

In such a case the referee shall give the name of the offender to league officials who will record the incident.

E. Will send off the field of play and show a red card to any player/coach who is guilty of violent conduct,

serious foul play, the use of abusive language, or is guilty of a second cautionable offense.

VI. CONDUCT / SPORTSMANSHIP:

1. No coach or player shall belittle or berate the referee. This type of action will NOT be tolerated..

First offense: Warning

Second offense: Ejection from a game of offending person.

PENALTY: Any coach or player ejected from a game will be suspended for a minimum of 1 game up to a maximum of the remainder of the season. When a player is ejected for unsportsmanlike conduct that team will play a player short for the rest of the game. Any coach ejected from a game will be required to meet in person with

2. Harassment of officials and field supervisors will not be tolerated. Questions should be asked by the team spokesperson and done in an ORDERLY HUMANE fashion about rule interpretations only. Judgment calls are not to be argued.

Failure to comply with this rule will result in immediate ejection of the guilty party and possibly forfeiture of the game. NO WARNINGS WILL BE GIVEN!!

VII. CANCELLATIONS / INCLEMENT WEATHER –

1. In case of inclement weather, a decision will be made by the REFEREE assigned to the game.

2. Any game that is stopped at halftime or beyond will be counted as a complete game. There will be no make-up games as all Teams will make the playoffs.

3. MAKE-UP GAMES: Since all teams will make playoffs, there will not be make-up games.

VIII Referee Compensation due to Inclement Weather

If the game cannot be started due to inclement weather (torrential rain, hail, or sleet that makes the field unplayable; lightning), the referee will be paid $100. In the event of these conditions, there is a 30-minute waiting period before the decision to terminate the match is made. And there is a 30-minute waiting period for lightning at any time during or before a contest. This is usually not an issue in June or early July, as the days are long enough to play until about 8:30 PM.

Once the game has started, the referee is the only one who can terminate the match. The referee will do whatever possible to get the match completed as there is very little if any, the opportunity for teams to play make-up games during the summer. If there is any question about whether a match should continue, player safety is the most important consideration, at all times.

If the match is terminated at halftime, the referee will keep $40 as compensation.

If the match is terminated before 60 minutes have been played, the game is not official and must be replayed. The referee will keep the game fee, and the teams will request another date from the league to replay the game.

IX. Referee Compensation due to Forfeit or unexpected Cancellations

If the game is canceled, and the referee is not notified in advance, and they show up at the field, they will receive $40 (1/2 game fee) from the league (this is the other one I am not sure of).

With no advance call, the referee will assume the game is being played and show up at the field. If only one team shows up, this is a forfeit and the referee collects $40 from the team at the field, and the league will pay the other $40 to the referee via check.

If the field is deemed unplayable by the referee and the home team cannot remediate the conditions prior to starting the game, the referee receives $40 (1/2 game fee) from the league, and the league deals with the home team for not having a playable field.

X. END OF SEASON:

1. A single-elimination tournament will be played at the end of the season as ‘the final’.

Tiebreaks in the standings.

1 – Head to head aggregate score.

2 – Goal differential

3 – Lowest goals allowed

4 – Most goals scored

5 – Flip a coin

Playoff Games / Overtime

IT IS CRITICAL THAT THE GAMES START ON TIME BECAUSE WE HAVE TO PLAY OVERTIME IF IT ENDS IN A TIE !!! Get there early, check in the teams, and get the ball rolling….but nobody starts before6:00 PM unless both coaches agree !!!

If a playoff match ends in a tie, OT protocol is as follows:

2 x 10 min OT periods, played to completion.

If still tied, best of 5 kicks from the penalty spot, players on the field.

If still tied, SUDDEN DEATH: one for one from the remaining players on the field until someone makes and someone misses. If we go through all 11 on the field, we can start over