FAQ

Are You Confused About Serving Suspensions?

As a result of several cases of "confusion" that occurred during the previous season, Disciplinary Committees met this year to review how our rules apply to suspensions when seasons or events overlap. This document is intended to clarify matters. If you have any questions, the preferred, and usually the fastest, way to get your questions answered is to communicate with the Disciplinary Committee Chair to get an authoritative answer. To do so, send an email to [email protected]. Do NOT rely on the interpretation of a fellow coach.

Summary of Principles and Rules:

1. If a player receives a red card, they are required to miss one (1) game, unless they receive a written notice from a Disciplinary Committee that says something different.

2. If the card is received during a regular season match:

a. The suspension is served during a regular season match

b. The match missed is the first match played after the next regularly scheduled Disciplinary Committee meeting, (every Thursday, 7:30pm, except Thanksgiving)

c. The coach has an OPTION to keep a player out of an earlier match if they have a match prior to that hearing

3. If the card is received during a tournament:

a. The suspension is served during a match played in that tournament.

b. The match missed is the NEXT match played.

c. If the player wishes to have a hearing prior to that match, and that match occurs before the next regularly scheduled Disciplinary Committee meeting, the player MUST request a hearing from the field marshal IMMEDIATELY following the match in which they received the card. They should not leave the field until they are told how the hearing will be scheduled. Many are done right at the venue, shortly following the match.

4. A player must always serve a suspension. For example: if the regular season ends before they have served a suspension earned during the regular season, then the player must serve their suspension in the next sanctioned WSYSA event for which they are registered. So, if a player is currently playing in the President's Cup, they would need to serve their suspension in the President's Cup. Similarly, if a player is suspended during President's Cup, but their team is eliminated from the tournament, they must still serve the suspension. If they have no further seasonal games in 2005, the suspension must still be served, even if that means waiting for a summer tournament or the following season.

5. In all cases, the ONLY valid documentation that a player has served a suspension is documentation that is signed by the referee at the match the player is sitting out. That documentation must be returned to the Disciplinary Committee before the player is reinstated.

Reminder: If you have questions about any of these rules, please make sure you ask a person who is authorized to give you an authoritative answer. These people are: WSYSA District II Disciplinary Committee Chair ([email protected]), the Alternate Commissioner ([email protected]), or VP of Competition ([email protected]). Your question should be in writing and the answer given should be in writing. Reports that "somebody", even a person in authority, gave you a verbal explanation are not an adequate defense in a hearing.