U.S. Soccer recently announced a new Referee Abuse Prevention (RAP) policy that sets minimum expectations for suspensions for individuals who violate the policy. With this policy now in effect for all member organizations of U.S. Soccer, this will apply to all affiliated matches you are officiating.
If you’ve not previously learned about the new Referee Abuse Prevention (RAP) policy, you can read about it here.
As the governing bodies of soccer at all levels in the United States implement this new policy, please keep the following in mind:
- The Laws of the Game have not changed, just the suspension required by U.S. Soccer for infractions of the Referee Abuse policy.
- Do not change the way you officiate a game as a result of this policy.
- Continue to utilize the techniques taught by U.S. Soccer and CNRA to proactively manage behavior from the coaches, players and spectators to prevent the need for misconduct. You can learn more about those techniques here.
- Review the examples of behaviors outlined in the policy to re-evaluate the kinds of behaviors that warrant a response of some kind from the referee.
The intent of this policy is not to see a significant increase in red cards for things that have not been red cards in the past. The goal is to create stronger consequences to prevent the behavior from happening. However, the examples found in this policy, particularly under Level 1 of the non-physical section, should make us all re-evaluate the kinds of behaviors we should be flagging as inappropriate or worthy of an appropriate response of some kind from the referee. The examples provided in Levels 2-4 of the non-physical section and the entire physical section should result in a red card to the guilty party, as they have in the past.
U.S. Soccer is currently developing a reporting structure to be used nationwide when this policy is violated. Until that national reporting process is in place, please follow the instructions below when this policy is violated in a game:
- The referee of the match should complete the standard red card reporting process, and submit any reporting to the governing body of the match (i.e. NorCal, Cal North, etc.). This is the same process that would be followed when any red card is issued.
- This form should be submitted even if a red card was not issued during a game in which a violation of the Referee Abuse policy occurred.
- Any red card report or Supplemental Report submitted for a violation of the Referee Abuse policy should also be sent to CNRA. Simply email a PDF of the report to [email protected].
- Note: this is only for red cards issued for referee abuse as described in the U.S. Soccer policy.
- Exception: NorCal will automatically forward reports from NorCal matches, so the referee does not need to email CNRA a copy.
To learn more about the implementation of this new Referee Abuse Prevention (RAP) policy, we encourage you to join us for one of the following RAP informational webinars where this will be discussed in detail:
Additionally, CNRA will dedicate the two Continuing Education webinars in March to the topic of “Managing Dissent”, so we can refresh our memories on the techniques you can use to manage the behavior of coaches, players and spectators:
If you have any questions specific to the implementation of this policy, or if you need support in addressing any issues that arise as this policy is initiated, please email [email protected] and CNRA staff will get back to you as soon as possible.
As always, we appreciate your partnership and look forward to working with you as we navigate the implementation of this new policy.
La U.S. Soccer recientemente anuncio una nueva política de prevención del abuso de árbitros (Referee Abuse Prevention – RAP) que establece una mínima expectativa para la suspensión de individuos quien violan la política. Con esta política en efecto para todas las organizaciones miembros de U.S. Soccer, se aplicará a todos los partidos afiliados que usted dirige.
Puede aprender más acerca de la nueva política de prevención del abuso de árbitros aquí.
A medida que se implementa esta política en todo el país, tenga en cuenta lo siguiente:
- Las reglas del juego no han cambiado – solo las suspensiones requeridas por U.S. Soccer por violaciones de la política.
- No cambie la manera que dirige un partido por culpa de la política.
- Continue utilizando las técnicas y enseñanzas de U.S. Soccer y CNRA para manejar de manera proactiva el comportamiento de entrenadores, jugadores, y espectadores, para evitar el uso de medidas disciplinarias. Puede obtener más información acerca de estas técnicas aquí.
- Revise los ejemplos de comportamientos descritos en la póliza para reevaluar los tipos de comportamientos que requieren una respuesta del árbitro.
El intento de esta política no es realizar un aumento significativo de tarjetas rojas para cosas que no han sido tarjetas rojas anteriormente. El objetivo es establecer consecuencias más fuertes para prevenir conducta abusiva.
Hasta que se establezca un proceso nacional de reportaje, por favor siga las instrucciones a continuación cuando se infrinja la política en un partido:
- El árbitro debe completar el proceso de reportaje requerido por la liga o el club y entregar los formularios al órgano rector del partido (NorCal, Cal North, etc.). Este es el mismo proceso que sigaria cuando muestra una tarjeta roja.
- Este formulario debe ser enviado incluso cuando una tarjeta roja no se ha mostrado durante un partido, pero donde la política se ha violado.
- Cualquier reporte o formulario suplementario por violación de la política también debe enviarse a la CNRA. Envíe el reporte como un documento PDF a [email protected]
- Nota: esto solo es para tarjetas rojas mostradas por abuso contra un arbitro como se describe en la política de U.S. Soccer.
- Excepción: NorCal enviara automáticamente los reportes de los partidos NorCal. El arbitro no necesita enviar una copia a la CNRA.
Si tiene cualquier pregunta especifica debida a la implementación de esta política, o si necesita apoyo en rectificar problemas que gestionan mientras se implementa esta política, por favor mande un correo electrónico a [email protected] y un miembro de la CNRA le responderá lo más pronto posible.
