Champions

Intramural Soccer Rules

General

Rubber soled non marking tennis shoes are recommended. Absolutely no cleats, turf or regular street shoes will be permitted.
All jewelry is to be removed before the start of play.
All teams must wear uniformed jersey’s that are pre-approved by the supervisor and clearly display a number on the back. A jersey that is not pre-approved will not be able to be worn during the match.
Players choosing to wear shin guards must have them fully covered by stockings at all times. Shin guards must be made out of suitable material such as rubber, plastic, polyurethane or similar substance. NO METAL shin guards.
Games will be two 20 minute halves of running time with a five minute half time.
Additional time is only allowed for taking a penalty kick.
Teams will switch sides of the court at half time.
There will be no overtime in regular season games.

Field of Play

The field will be divided in half by a halfway line.
The center mark is indicated at the midpoint of the halfway line. A circle with a radius of seven yards is marked around it.
The curtains will be lowered to the ground and will be considered in play at all times.

The Penalty Box

The penalty box is 8 yards by 6 yards, and is located in front of the goal.
A penalty mark is located eight yards from the middle of the goal.

The Ceiling

The ceiling is out of bounds. If the ball touches the ceiling an indirect free kick is awarded to the opposing team on the ground where the infraction occurred.

Players

The match will be played between two teams fielding no more than five players.
A minimum of four players is required to play a match. If a team fails to provide at least four players for play at anytime during the match, it will be considered a forfeit.
On co-ed teams, two of the field players must be female at all times.
Only players on the game roster are allowed to complete in the match.
Players may only play on one team.
Each team is allowed to have one player who has previous college varsity experience and has not been part of the team for one year.
Current varsity players are not eligible for participation.

Goalkeepers

One player from each team must be designated as the goalkeeper and will wear a different colored jersey than his/her own team.
Goalies are allowed to use their hands in their own penalty area.
The referee must be informed before a goalie change may take place.
Goalie changing is only allowed during the stoppage of play. (a kick-in, injury, etc.)

Substitutions

All field player substitutions are done “on the fly”.
All substitutions must take place at midfield.
The player leaving the field must slap hands with the player entering the field.
If an illegal substitution occurs, play is stopped, the team is given a warning and the opposing team is awarded an indirect kick at the spot where the ball was located at the time of the infringement.

Start and Restart of Play

Both teams must be inspected by the referees before any part of the game can begin. (check for proper shoes and removal of jewelry)
A referee will hold a coin toss and the team that wins choosing which side they want to attack first.
The other team takes the kick off to start the match.
The team that won the coin toss takes the kick off in the second half.
A kick off starts the game. It also is used at the start of the second period, after a goal has been scored, and at the start of each period in over time.

Kick-off Procedure

All players must be on their own half of the field
The opponents of the team taking the kick-off are at least seven yards from the ball until is in play.
The ball is stationary on the center mark.
The referee blows the whistle.
The ball is in play when it is kicked forward.
If the kicker touches the ball a second time before it touches another player, an indirect free kick is awarded to the opposing team to be taken from the place where the infringement occurred.
For any other infringement of the kick- off the kick- off is retaken.
If the ball goes out of bounds between the curtains the team that did NOT kick the ball out of bounds, will take a kick in at the place where the infringement occurred.
A corner kick is issued if a team kicks the ball behind their own net or kicks the ball into their own net on a free kick.

Procedure

Referee places ball on the corner spot.
Ball is in motion when it is kicked forward.

Other Temporary Suspensions of Time

After any other temporary suspension; when restarting the game after a temporary suspension of play from any cause not mentioned elsewhere in these playing rules, provided that immediately prior to the suspension the ball had not passed over the touch or goal lines, the referee shall drop the ball at the place where it was when play was suspended, unless it was within the penalty area at that time, in which case it shall be dropped on the penalty-area line nearest to where the ball was when play was suspended. It shall be deemed in play when it has touched the ground; if, however,:

it goes over the touch-line or goal-line after it has been dropped by the referee, but before it has been touched by a player, or
a player touches the ball before it has touched the ground,
the referee shall again drop the ball.

The Ball in and out of Play

Ball out of Play

The ball is out of play when it has gone over or through the curtains.
The referee will also decide if the ball is out of bounds when it goes behind the goal or is in the side of the goal.
The ball is out of play when the referee has stopped play.
The ball is out of play when it hits the ceiling.

Ball in play

The ball is in play at all other times including when it rebounds from a goalpost, crossbar, curtain, or referee and remains in the field of play.

Scoring

Goal Scored
A goal is scored when the whole ball passes over the goal line, between posts and under the crossbar, provided that no rules have been broken by the team scoring the goal.

1 point for male scored goals
2 points for female scored goals.

Fouls and Misconduct

All Free Kicks will be Indirect (excluding penalty kicks)
Free kicks are awarded to the opposing team if a player commits any of the following offenses in a manner considered by the referee to be careless, reckless or using excessive force.

Kicks or attempts to kick an opponent
Trips or attempts to trip an opponent
Charges an opponent
Strikes or attempts to strike an opponent
Pushes an opponent
Slides at the ball or another player, NO SLIDE TACKLING ALLOWED
Holds an opponent
Spits at an opponent
Handles the ball deliberately
Plays in a dangerous manner
Impedes the progress of an opponent
Prevents the goalkeeper from releasing the ball from his hands
Commits any other offense, not previously mentioned, which is stopped to caution or dismiss a player

If any player on the defending team commits one of the above named offenses in the penalty area, a penalty kick is awarded. The procedure for penalty kicks is in section 9.

A free kick is also awarded to the opposing team if a goalkeeper, inside his own penalty area commits any of the following offenses:

Punts the ball
Takes more than six seconds while controlling the ball with his hands before releasing it from his possession and has not touched any other player
Touches the ball again with his hands after it has been deliberately kicked to him by a team-mate

Procedure

Free Kicks are taken from where the offense occurred.
The referee signals an indirect free kick by raising his arm above his head.
They keep their arm up until the ball touches another player.
A goal can only be scored if the ball subsequently touches another player before it enters the goal.
If an indirect free kick is kicked directly into the opponent’s goal, a goal kick is awarded.
If an indirect free kick is kicked directly into the team’s own goal, a corner kick is awarded to the other team.
If, after the ball is in play, the kicker touches the ball a second time before it has touched another player, an indirect free kick is awarded to the other team at the spot of the infringement.

Position

All opponents are at least 7 yards from the ball until it is in play, unless they are on their goal line between the goalposts.
The ball is in play when it is kicked and it moves.

Yellow and Red Cards

Yellow Cards

A player cautioned and shown the yellow card if he/she commit any of the following offenses:

Guilty of unsporting behavior
Shows dissent by word or action
Persistently infringes the rules of the game
Delays the restart of play
Fails to respect the required distance when play is restarted with a free kick or kick in

Red Cards

A player is sent off and shown the red card if he/she commits any of the following offenses

Guilty of serious foul play
Guilty of violent conduct
Spits at anyone
Denies the opposing team a goal or an obvious goal scoring opportunity by deliberately handling the ball (does not apply to goal keeper in his/her own goal)
Denies an obvious goal-scoring opportunity to an opponent moving towards the player’s goal by an offense punishable by a free kick or a penalty kick
Uses offensive, insulting or abusive language and/ or gestures
Receives a second caution in the same match

Special Circumstances

A Player must be substituted for if they receive a yellow card. Before they will be allowed to return onto the field, the offending player must check in with the supervisor.
A player who receives a red card must leave the playing field and may not be substituted for; the offending player’s team must finish the game one man short.
Two yellow cards in one game automatically equal a red card.
After a player has accumulated three yellow cards (cautions) over the course of the season they will sit out their next game.
If a player receives a red card they must sit out their next game, see the supervisor and schedule a meeting with the head of the intramurals.
Once a team has accumulated 12 cards, either yellow or red, they will forfeit their next game.
A team who has two forfeits will be out of the league for the rest of the season.

Penalty Kicks

Set –Up

The ball is placed on the penalty mark
The player taking the kick is properly identified
The defending goalkeeper remains on their goal line, between the goalposts until the ball has been kicked
The players other the kicker are located inside the field of play, outside the penalty area and behind the penalty mark

The Referee

The referee makes sure the ball and the players are all in accordance with the rules in Part A.
The referee asks the goalie if they are ready and then blows the whistle, after which the player may kick the ball

Procedure

The player taking the penalty kicks the ball forward
They do not touch the ball a second time until it has touched another player
The ball is in play when it is kicked and moves forward

Infringements/Sanctions

If the referee gives the signal for the penalty kick to be taken and, before the ball is in play one of the following situations occurs:

The player taking the kick infringes one of the rules, the referee allows the kick to proceed, if the ball enters the goal, the kick is retaken, if the ball does not enter the goal, the kick is not retaken.
The goalkeeper infringes one of the rules, the referee allows the kick to proceed, if the ball enters the goal a goal is awarded, if the ball does not enter the goal, the kick is retaken
A team-mate of the player taking the kick enters the penalty area before the kick, the referee allows the kick to proceed, if the ball enters the goal, the kick is retaken, if the ball does not enter the goal, the kick is not retaken
A player from both teams enter the penalty area, the kick is retaken

If after the penalty kick has been taken

The kicker touches the ball a second time an indirect free kick is awarded to the opposing team, at the spot of the infringement

The Referee

Time

Referees must be present 30 minutes prior to game.
Referees must stay until all equipment is put away.

Uniform

Referees must wear shirt provided.
Referees must wear shorts or pants with pockets.
Whistles and cards will be provided.
Referee must provide their own watch.
Referee must bring a pen or pencil.

Duties

Two referees will be assigned to each game.
They will work as a team.
Both Referees will be responsible for writing down the score and the minute of each goal.
Both referees will be responsible for writing down any cards given out.
Either referee may make a call regardless of positions on the field
Both referees will be responsible for keeping the time of the match.
The referees’ decision is final.