ESCONDIDO SOCCER CLUB (ESC)

SPRING POST-SEASON TOURNAMENT RULES

GENERAL RULES

1.      RULES - All games will be played in accordance with FIFA rules and as modified by the Escondido Soccer Club (ESC) Spring League.

2.      PROTESTS / DISPUTES - All games will be considered final. No protests will be allowed. The Director or Spring League will resolve any situation not explicitly covered by the rules.  The Director’s decision is final.

3.      HOME TEAM RESPONSIBILITIES - The HOME team is listed first on the game schedule. The home team will provide a game ball. The game ball is subject to referee approval.

4.      SPECTATOR SEATING - In all cases spectator and team seating will allow the referee’s assistants clear runs and views of all touch lines. Home teams get’s Choice of side of the field. Spectators and substitutes of the opposing teams cannot share the same side of the field. When games are concluded, teams and spectators are to leave the fields immediately, so the next game can start without delay.

5.      RED CARDS - Players or coaches ejected from a game (RED card) will be expelled from that game, will not be replaced in that game, and will not be permitted to play/coach in the next game, as a minimum. The Director may give a further suspension for violent conduct. (2 yellow cards in one game = 1 red card). Coaches are responsible for the behavior of their fans. Teams that are short a player(s) due to red card ejection will also play any overtime short a player(s).

 

6.      FORFEITS – If a team fails to show up to play at game time or does not have the minimum number of players to play the game, the referee will give the team a five minute grace period for the team or players to appear. If after five minutes from the scheduled start time the team does not show up or it does not have the minimum number of players required, the game is forfeited by a 1-0 score. If both teams fail to appear, each team will receive 0 points. Any team that forfeits a game, will be considered withdrawn from the postseason tournament and the results of ALL their games will be considered a 1-0 loss, even if they already played games that had different results, UNLESS, in the opinion of the Director, applying this rule affect the fairness to the participating teams and the spirit of the tournament.

 

COMPETITION

1.      The Director divides the teams into balanced brackets of three to six teams, Bracket A and Bracket B, and Bracket C for some age groups.

2.      Pool-play (each team plays the other teams in the same bracket) is followed by a championship game between the top two teams in points.

3.      Pool-play games are mini games. They are to be two 20-minutes halves with a five-minute half time break. Games in pool-play CAN end in a tie.

4.      The top team from each group and the best second place finisher of the groups advance to the championship game. 

Game lengths in minutes is as follows:

Ø      Pool-play: 

20 minutes halves with 5 minutes half time break.

Ø      Final:

 20 Minutes halves with 5 minutes half time break.

5.      To decide Championship games tied at the end of the 2^nd half, FIFA penalty kicks will be used (each team chooses five players who were on the field playing at the conclusion of the game to take five kicks from the penalty spot. The two teams alternate kicks. The team who scores more goals wins the game. If the game is still tied after the five kicks, sudden death kicks follows. A new player from each team takes a kick. When one team scores and the other team misses, the game is over and the team who scored wins.

Halves of regulation games will be separated by a break of 5 minutes. Breaks between games and PK’s, will be 1 minute.

6.      Standings will be determined by points awarded as follows:

3 points for each win
1 points for each tie, including 0-0 ties. Games ending in 0-0 ties are not considered shutouts
1 point is deducted for each red card issued per player or coach.

7.      Ties in standings will be resolved as follows:

a.      Winner of head-to-head competition.

b.      Most Shutouts.

c.      Least goals allowed.

d.      Most goals scored.

e.      If required to determine advancement to final games, FIFA penalty kicks will be held after the conclusion of all pool-play games unless a more reasonable time can be agreed upon by both teams. The Director shall make the final decision.

 

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