Summary of rules and regulations

SUMMARY OF RULES AND REGULATIONS

WEDNESDAY 6 A-SIDE

Number of Players

• Each team can field a maximum of 5 players and 3 substitutes (total of 8 players) per match.
• The minimum number of players required per team for a match to be considered valid is 4 players.

Player Equipment

• A jersey or shirt.
• Shorts or track suit trousers.
• Shinguards – no shinguards no play.
• Footwear – restricted to astroturf boots or plastic moulds.
• Goalkeeper must wear colours which easily distinguish them from the other players and the referee.

Substitutions

• Unlimited ‘roll-on/roll-off’ substitutions are allowed; waiting substitutes must remain behind their own goal line and should not interfere with play until they are substituted on to the pitch.
• There must be a break in play.
• The referee must be informed before the change can take place and give a signal to approve it.

Match Duration

• Each match consists of two halves, usually 19 minutes long.

Late arrival

• A team that arrives late for a scheduled match and provided their opponent is ready to start the match, will have goals deducted against them for every 5 minutes of lateness. For example, a team arriving 1 – 5 minutes late will start the game one goal down, and 6 – 10 minutes late they will start two goals down. If they arrive more than 10 minutes late the match will be forfeited as a 3 – 0 loss against them, and the match fee will still be due.

Goalkeeper

• The goalkeeper must always roll the ball out with an underarm action; a direct free kick shall be awarded 2 yards from the edge of the area if either the ball goes above the stipulated height or his roll out is not underarm.
• The goalkeeper must not leave their area. If they do, a penalty will be awarded.
• If the goalkeeper makes a save and part of his body slides out of the area, then the referee shall use his discretion on whether this was genuine momentum or not and whether the goalkeeper made every reasonable effort to stay within the area.
• The goalkeeper may not kick the ball under any circumstances except in the course of making a save. If the goalkeeper does kick the ball, a direct free kick will be given, 2 yards outside the area.

Free Kicks

• The ball must be stationary when the kick is taken. All opponents must be at least 2 yards from the ball until it is in play. No interceptions.

All free kicks are direct and include:

• Intentional handball
• High ball
• Time wasting
• A player not retreating 2 yards from the ball or showing dissent
• The goalkeeper making a foul throw
• Sliding
• Kicking the ball away
• Fouls
• Obstruction

Back passes

• When an outfield player receives the ball from the goalkeeper, the ball must be touched by another player before being passed back to the goalkeeper. This is punishable with a direct free kick, from where the player passed it back.

Height rule

• The stipulated height will be when the whole ball passes over the height of the crossbar.
• A direct free-kick shall be taken from where the ball was originally played.
• If the ball goes above head-height off the goalkeeper making a save, goal frame, and any fixed equipment, play shall continue.

Penalties

A penalty shall be awarded when:

• The goalkeeper comes out of the area and, at the referee’s discretion, it is not judged to be momentum.
• A penalty kick must be taken with a one-step finish.

Blue Card and ‘Sin-Bin’

• C1 is guilty of unsporting behaviour
• C2 shows dissent by word or action
• C3 persistently infringes the Laws of the Game
• C4 delays the restart of play
• C5 fails to respect the required distance when play is restarted with a corner kick, kick-in, free kick or goal kick.
• C6 enters or re-enters the playing area without the referee’s permission or infringes the substitution procedure
• C7 deliberately leaves the playing area without the referee’s permission outside of a substitution

For any of these offences, a direct free kick is awarded to the opposing team, to be taken from the place where the infringement occurred. The player who has received the blue card must remain off the pitch, behind his team’s goal line, until the referee grants him permission to re-enter the pitch.

Sending-Off Offences

• S1 is guilty of serious foul play
• S2 is guilty of violent conduct
• S3 spits at an opponent or any other person
• S4 denies the opposing team a goal or an obvious goal-scoring opportunity by deliberately handling the ball (this does not apply to a goalkeeper within his own penalty area)
• S5 denies an obvious goal-scoring opportunity to an opponent moving towards the player’s goal by an offence punishable by a free kick or a penalty kick
• S6 uses offensive, insulting or abusive language
• S7 receives a third blue card in the same match

Any player receiving a red card will be permanently excluded from the remainder of the game and they will be suspended from Ultimate Football matches for at least one game. Players are reminded that the Rules and Regulations of The FA and the sanctioning County FA allow for fines to be imposed as a result of misconduct.

Captain’s role

Please note that the Team Captain is responsible for the match fee, and the conduct of all players and all spectators connected with the team. Failure to control the conduct of players or spectators will result in the Team Captain being responsible for any resulting debts and possibly exclusion of his team from the league.

Prepared by: Ultimate Football – February 2021