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Match Official’s Handbook
MATCH OFFICIAL HANDBOOK
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Match Official’s Handbook
WELCOME Be proud that you officiate with the largest small sided leagues supplier in Europe. Be proud that we are the only leagues organiser who donates substantial sums to good causes each year.
We are supported by:
David Cameron
Boris Johnson
Alan Wiley
“ Leisure Leagues help to bring Britain’s favourite sport to thousands - building friendships, promoting teamwork & benefiting good causes in the process.”
“ I commend you for your efforts in bringing football to wider audiences within the community. I hope your excellent work will continue to thrive.”
“ Thank you for supporting our charities and best wishes to Leisure Leagues for the good causes you support.”
Stephen Kelly
Gordon Brown
Usain Bolt
“I wholeheartedly recommend Leisure Leagues. Leisure League’s commitment to organisation discipline, & providing value for the local community is unrivalled”
“Leisure Leagues is a remarkable organisation bringing people together in the local communities promoting the value of teamwork and fairness”
“Leisure Leagues, It was really fun playing with you guys.”
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IT’S IMPORTANT THE LEAGUE LOOKS RIGHT... Our clothing range is manufactured to high standards and is made exclusively for us. We expect you to wear this clothing or your own referees kit at all times when representing Leisure Leagues.
Beanie Hat
Referee’s Top
Thick Weatherproof Jacket Three Layer Thermal Insulation Guaranteed to Keep you Warm in All Conditions
Supplied Tracksuit Bottoms Or your Own Black Referee Shorts
High Quality Tracksuit WINTER
SPRING/AUTUMN
SUMMER
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Match Official’s Handbook
WE’LL GIVE YOU ALL THE EQUIPMENT YOU NEED... Usually you will be supplied with...
4 match balls, each division, and each season.
A net bag for you to keep your bibs and balls in.
A set of 6 bibs for each division.
A lanyard, whistle, and red and yellow cards, if you need them.
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BUT WE DO ASK THAT YOU… Don’t give out your balls to teams to train with before games, and do collect any balls from over the fence (We spend over £30,000 on footballs each year – money that we could otherwise give to good causes!) Remember, we only supply you with match quality balls, not training balls. Players or teams that try and take balls from your bag or ask you for a football to play with before the games you must always resist. They will soon know to bring their own footballs to the league to train with! Do collect your bibs at the end of each match (Players often forget to take their bib off and go home with it on!) Do wash your bibs every two weeks.
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We want the league to look good so... We ask you to insist that all teams wear matching colours (use the bibs if necessary). Remember, teams can order a kit from us if needs be and we’ll give you some cards to help them….
Contact us for a supply of these postcard size handouts to give to your teams
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Let us know if the promotion needs updating... We ask you to let us know if the league promotion needs updating at the venue. For example, if the banners or signs are hanging down it really is important that you let us know so we can send somebody out to fix them. We know from experience that if the promotion looks poor at a league, that is the image that we give out to our customers. Also, we do replace nets on a free of charge basis for all facilities across the United Kingdom, so please let us know if nets with holes in are causing you difficulties. Please tell your office contact or email us‌ Good promotion means more teams, means extra money for you, no friendlies, and you can choose the teams you want to referee!
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Match Official’s Handbook
IT’S EASY FOR YOU TO TELL US THE RESULT USING OUR AUTOMATED SYSTEM We ask that you update these as soon as possible on the same evening that the league is run. Just go online, use your password...
Once you’ve done it, we’ll check things, then an automated email goes to every player in the league (if we have their email address) like this…
And then we’ll give you a call at a time convenient to you, just to confirm everything. We also have a newsletter you can access through your login which gives you information about all sorts of things which are relevant to your officiating with us.
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25 YEARS
In
We’ve never let you down
Perhaps our proudest achievement is that we have never, ever, taken the word of a player or team over and above that of a referee.
We have a reputation, rightly deserved, of being the UK’s strictest enforcer of player discipline. We believe, unlike any other organisation, that the referee must always, yes ALWAYS attend a match without fear of intimidation, foul language directed at you, and in full confidence – knowing that we will support any decision you make. We know that’s important to you, and it’s vital to us.
ONE YELLOW CARD
And one more thing. When you ask us to ban a player or team we do it, immediately, no questions asked, and they are NEVER allowed back unless you say so.
Instant Dismissal
Ordinary Caution (2minutes Sin Bin) Fine £10
TWO YELLOW CARDS Ordinary Dismissal Fine £20
ONE RED CARD Fine £40
ONE RED CARD Instant Dismissal plus 2 week Ban Fine £50
ONE RED CARD Instant Dismissal and Life Time Ban Fine £100
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Match Official’s Handbook
AND OF COURSE THE You can find the full version of ‘minifootball’ rules either on www.leisurel or www.ukminifootball.co.uk, (minifootball’s governing body) but here are some key points: 1. When the ball leaves play on the side, players can kick-in or underarm throw-in 2. The keeper cannot kick the ball if he has it under control. 3. Sliding tackles are not allowed. 4. When a goal is scored, play is restarted from the keeper. 5. Substitutes are roll on, roll off. 6. All free kicks are indirect and players must be two yards from the kicker. 7. Referees are instructed to advance play for dissent. 8. All kick ins are indirect. 9. Back passes to the keeper are allowed, but only if the ball has touched two or more players after leaving the keeper. 10. Swearing at the referee is an automatic sending off offence. 11. The referee has sole authority of the match. 12. Use the SIN BIN - it really does work. We know that referees who use this facility regularly have 77% less problems with discipline at a league as it allows players to cool down off the pitch. UKMA sends referees to officiate in European and World Competitions and these must have the A-License, with B and C Licenses usually ufficient to officiate in a minifootball competition. Referees are encouraged to undertake a UKMA referees training course, where they will be able to gain one of the following qualifications to enable them to referee minifootball matches in Europe and around the world. For more information on the different referee classes and courses that are available visit
www.ukminifootball.co.uk
AT THE
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E RULES eagues.net, If you run a large league then one of our head office staff will always come and do a presentation, usually on the first week of the new season. This is your opportunity to tell us or ask for anything specifically on a face to face basis or let us know, while we are at the league, if there is anything you need to tell us about.
For smaller leagues we normally ask that you give out trophies yourselves, particularly as you are seen as the ‘face’ of Leisure Leagues and it is nice for you to do this. We will send you a package with all the trophies in, neatly presented, to make it really easy for you to do this, plus a small gift for you!
END OF THE SEASON...
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IT’S VITAL YOU BANK THE MONEY! If you collect money from our teams it’s vital you bank this money within 7 days Please remember, we are a non-profit making organisation who give any surplus income to good causes. Banking your money on time is essential for us to continue this good work. You can bank your money at any of the 1300 HSBC branches across the United Kingdom.
Match Official’s Handbook
UK 6-A-SIDE CHAMPIONSHIPS We also sponsor the UK 6-a-side Championships until 2017 Which you can referee at! In 2012 we signed a new 5 year deal which gave us key sponsorship rights at the UK 6-a-side Championships. Over 300 of the best teams compete, and the winners have the opportunity to represent their national country in the European Minifootball Championships. In 2012, two of our officials were chosen to represent the UK at the MiniEuro 2012 in Moldova and went on to be selected to referee the final - something for you to aim for.
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YOU’RE BETTER PROTECTED THAN EVER WITH US Your safety is our first concern, so we’ve made sure that our insurance policy is the best in the industry, and yes, that means often more comprehensive than most FA’s would provide And as an international organisation, we ensure we have partnerships with all the relevant governing bodies across Europe, including the relevant governing body for minifootball (5,6,7 a-side) the UKMA In 2012 the European Commission in Brussels recognised 5,6,and 7-a-side football as a separate sport to 11-a-side football requiring a dedicated separate governing body and we were one of the first organisers to affiliate to the UK Minifootball Association which was licensed by Europe to be the governing body for small sided football in the United Kingdom. You can visit their website at www.ukminifootball.co.uk
Match Official’s Handbook
FREE APP! Remember, you can check things at the league itself (and tell the teams they can too) By downloading our FREE app - just search for ‘Leisure Leagues’ or scan this
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Match Official’s Handbook
REFEREE’S HANDBOOK