Match Day Procedures

The designated kick-off times for the league are at 10:30 am for morning games and 1:30 pm for afternoon games. Games must begin on time but if a referee is not able to attend on time then a ten minute allowance should be given. If for whatever reason the referee fails to attend after that, the home team must liaise with the away team and nominate a referee within another 10 minutes. The away team must accept the nominated referee whoever it is and the game should begin within another 5 minutes (25 minutes from original kick-off time). The chosen referee then has full authority over the game and must complete the WHOLE game and not just a portion of it. The normal referee's fee must still be paid by the home side.

Both teams must have a match card filled out with the list of all the players including any substitutes that you intend to use and hand it in to the referee 5 minutes BEFORE the game begins. Only the players listed on the match card will be allowed to participate in the game so it is crucial to complete this fully. This can easily be done the night before the game as there is space on the match card to nominate up to 7 substitutes. Referees will be instructed to follow this law strictly and not begin the game until this has been done. Any time wasted filling out the card after the designated kick-off time will be deducted from the total match time.

Before the match begins each team should check the opposition ID cards to ensure that all players are registered to play in the league. A request to view the ID cards must be honoured but if it is not, then the requesting club is under no obligation to participate in the game. The match will be awarded to them with a 0-0 score line.

Any teams delaying kick-off by 10 minutes after the designated kick-off time for whatever reason (includes filling out the match card) while the opposition team and the referee are ready will be fined £25.00 and a further delay of 5 minutes will result in a forfeit.

At the end of the game the remainder of the match card must be completed and signed by the referee, reporting club manager and opposition club manager having confirmed the final score, all goal scorers and all cautions. A man of the match from the opposition side and the referees ratings must also be provided. These are very important for league administration purposes.

The completed match card should then be sent to the results secretary to arrive by no later than Wednesday 7pm following the game. The result must also be sent to the results secretary either by phone, text or email on the day of the match by 7pm at the latest. The full contact details are on the match cards.

Full completion of the match card is extremely important and the penalties for failure to do so can be very severe up to and including forfeit of the match.

Updated: 04/02/2008