Question Number: 22865

League Specific 2/24/2010

RE: rec Adult

Pina of vaughan, ontario canada asks...

one of the teams in our league used an non-register player to play for their team. Is there any rule in the fifa rules that says this is okay to do and if not allowed does that team get disqualified from playing in the playoffs, please let me know as there is a big discrepincy about this.
thanks,
Pina

Answer provided by Referee Dennis Wickham

The answer is not in the laws of the game, but in the league rules (what FIFA calls the 'rules of competition.') Leagues in my area treat as a serious offense using a player not on the roster. But, any punishment to the team or player will be decided in accordance with your league's rules.

Answer provided by Referee Jason Wright

To echo what Ref Wickham says, this is up to the competition authorities. They'll have regulations in place for such an event, and their decision may depend on a variety of factors. Contact the authorities for your competition.

Player registration and eligibility are not dealt with by the FIFA laws of the game.

Answer provided by Referee Gene Nagy

Pina, FIFA only makes laws as to how the game of soccer is played. They do not make laws about how the game is played off the field. We call these rules, not laws. There are as many rules out there as there are clubs, associations, commissions or leagues. You need to get hold of the governing body and get a copy of their rules, bylaws and constitution.

I know we have global warming but has it come to that, that there is soccer played outdoors in February in Ontario? In Vancouver we can do that, but in Ontario? (You may have noticed this has been the greenest Olympics ever; last week most of the hills were quite green!)

Answer provided by Referee Joe McHugh

Hi Pina
I echo what my referee colleagues have to say on this matter.
In addition it is not up to the referee to decide who plays or does not play despite many coaches asking them to get involved. He/she simply takes the roster as given to him/her, follows the necessary pre match procedures & competition rules set down by the League and allows the League Authorities to deal with eligibility, protests etc.
Many Leagues have put in place some measures to try to prevent this happening and the referee ensures that those measures are complied with such as ID cards, match card signatures etc.

Answer provided by Referee Gary Voshol

Leagues have rules about how a player is considered to be part of the team. Some leagues have passcards and a steadfast rule, no-card-no-play. Others have rules that will allow a player with some discrepancy to play; for example if the player doesn't have his card but has some other form of ID, he might be allowed to play. The league rules tell what the referee's involvement in this process is to be. For example in the youth regional select league where I sometimes ref, the team managers verify each other's player passes and the referee only needs to get involved if there is a discrepancy that must be noted on the game sheet.

Similarly league rules govern what happens if the team uses an illegal player. Many of these penalties are quite severe, leading from fines, forfeits and such up to banning the team from the league.