Ryman’s U21 Football League - Code of Conduct/Directives for Match Officials
We all have a responsibility to promote high standards of behaviour in the game.
The behaviour of the match officials has an impact, directly and indirectly, on the conduct of everyone involved in the game - both on the pitch and on the sidelines.
Play your part and observe The FA's Respect Code of Conduct for Match Officials at all times.
As a match official you will be expected to:
· Be honest and completely impartial at all times, irrespective of the teams, players or team officials involved in the match
· Apply the Laws of the Game and competition rules fairly and consistently
· Manage the game in a positive, calm and confident manner
· Deal with all instances of violence, aggression, unsporting behaviour, foul play and other misconduct
· Not tolerate offensive, insulting or abusive language or behaviour from players and officials
· Support match official colleagues at all times
· Set a positive personal example by promoting good behaviour and showing respect to everyone involved in the game
· Communicate with the players and encourage fair play
· Respond in a clear, calm and confident manner to any appropriate request for clarification by the team captains
· Prepare physically and mentally for every match
· Complete and submit, accurate and concise reports within the time limit required for games which you officiate
· You are expected to train regularly and maintain a standard of fitness appropriate for at least the next level of refereeing
· All officials are expected to demonstrate excellent levels of administration
· If you have an injury or are ill please notify the appointing officer via e-mail if it’s more than 48 hours before the match otherwise by phone and then follow up with an e-mail. Please do not leave it to the last moment the earlier you make a decision the easier it is to find a replacement.
· If you do come off a match for any reason and it’s been confirmed by the club please ensure you have the common courtesy to advise them accordingly together with you other appointed match officials.
· If you make a mistake please be honest and admit it, you will gain much more respect rather than trying to cover it up.
· Please operate the appropriate etiquette regarding mobile phones whilst at the match, they should ideally not be for conversations at least 1 hour before kick off or during the half time interval unless in an emergency.
· Please ask the club if you can bring guests before the match and appropriate behaviour is expected as they are representing you and you are officiating for the Ryman’s league.
Closing Dates
You will be expected to make known all dates that you are NOT available to referee; I will expect to be able to use you when your date is open. Please ensure you have closed any dates with other leagues as I will expect you to fulfil the appointment once you have confirmed it.
All closed dates should be sent to as follows in the subject line please put your name followed by the month, then closed dates i.e. John Smith - AugustClosed Dates. In the main body please put any closed dates, you just need to put the dates i.e. 3rd, 5th etc.? Please do not use any other format. Do not forget you should also close the date with your County FA to avoid getting County matches on the same date although they do take precedence.
Social Networking
You are NOT permitted to make any references to players, match officials, delegates or members of staff associated to any club that you have refereed on any social network media network e.g. Facebook, Twitter etc. Any breaches will result in you being reported to your County FA.
Match appointments
You must confirm acceptance of any all match appointments.
Failure to confirm your normal appointment within 3 days or less if indicated may result in you being replaced. Obviously any emergency appointment should be acknowledged immediately.
1. If you have no matches, then you do not do anything unless you have any closed dates, please follow the closed dates procedure outlined above
2. If you have no closed dates and a match or matches just send me back an e-mail with the details of the match in the subject heading i.e. 22/02/17 Lewes v Hastings Utd match confirmed Wayne Smith or unable to accept and the reason in the details together with your full name as I cannot identify everyone from their e-mail address.
3. If you have closed dates for a month and also a match or matches then please follow the above points 1 & 2 and send me 2 separate e-mails.
You can check your appointments by going to
http://www.isthmian.co.uk/u21-match-info/officials find your name and then click the view link.
Pre-Match Days
Make sure that you acknowledge your appointment with the home club secretary when they e-mail you the match confirmation details as soon as possible; it is not the duty of the club Secretary to chase you for a reply, “first impressions are very important”, I do not expect to hear that a club has been chasing you for confirmation.
If you do not hear from the club with 48 hours of the scheduled match then any assistant referees should contact the appointed referee who should then contact the club secretary on the list and confirm the position to the other officials.
I will expect you to attend a match unless you have confirmation that it has been postponed.
Referee’s must report clubs that fail to confirm matches within 48 hours on the post-match report form so the league office can take the appropriate action.
Referees are to liaise with their assistants at least 24 hours before the game to which you have all been appointed and confirm if an assessor will be present.
If possible, referees are to try and arrange joint travel where applicable.
Bad Weather
Please note clubs are not required to have a pitch inspection on this league so should let you know in advance if a match is postponed due to the weather.
Match days
Please ensure that you have the other appointed officials mobile numbers in case of an emergency and also the appointing officer’s number.
As a match official you will be the third team at the venue for the day.
Arrive at the venue and report to the club Secretary at least one hour before kick-off.
Presentable: Shirt and Tie, Trousers (no jeans), smart shoes (no trainers or sandals) for all games. Persistent: liaise with the home team secretary for any issues or concerns on the day
Polite: Be courteous to club official, coaches, players and spectators at all times you will gain respect by doing this.
Preparation: Prepare for the game as a team.
Pre Match
Warm up together, carry out pre-match instructions (there is a copy of the standard pre-match instructions on the website under match officials downloads).
Be prepared to enter the field of play at least 5 minutes before kick-off, which should include a jewellery check.
Ensure that the respect handshake is observed by both teams prior to the match (details can be found at http://www.isthmian.co.uk/downloads.php# document named The Respect programme
Post-Match
Please confirm details of any cautions and dismissals with a club official before you leave the ground.
Meet your assessor for de-brief (if applicable).
Contact appointing officer to discuss any major issues that may have arisen during the game i.e. major injury or match abandoned for any reason.
When invited into the boardroom, please act in a manner expected of you, if you are unable to accept the invite please advise the club accordingly i.e. make sure you tell someone that you will not be going into the boardroom/bar.
Do not get involved in boardroom discussions regarding match incidents.
ClubU21’s Contacts Details
Please note in order to find the club contacts for any club in theU21’s please first establish what division the first team are in. Then from the websitewww.isthmian.co.uk go to clubs then select one of the following Senior Premier, Senior North or Senior South. Find the team using their club badge in the list and you should see aU21 contact. If no contact is shown then it is the Senior Secretary i.e. 1st team. This should be used when referee’s send their post-match report to the individual clubs or if you do not receive confirmation of a fixture within the agreed period and need to contact the Secretary.
Post Match Reporting
If you are the referee please ensure that the referee’s report form is completed. There are two versions and both must be completed and submitted, the league one (named Referee Report Form - League Copy) should be sent to with the following in the subject heading U21 – match details, date of the fixture and referee name e.g. U21 – Whitstable Town v Ramsgate 01/10/15 – Ref Peter Smith.
And the club one (named Referee Report Form - Club Copy) to both the home and away club secretary’s details can be found on the Ryman’s website. Both forms are located at the following location http://www.isthmian.co.uk/downloads/match-officials
Failure to send your report to the league office within 48 hours of the match being played may result in action being taken (if it’s going to be late for any reason please inform the league office accordingly).
Reporting of cautions to the FA please use the whole game
https://wholegame.thefa.com/Account/Login?ReturnUrl=%2f
To add your misconduct reports for your league referees will need to follow this process:
1) Click on the Add a match button
2) Add referee role
3) Add date
4) Select League & League Cups
5) Enter the word Isthmian into the search bar (the less you add the more options is will provide you)
6) Select The FA – Isthmian Football League from the list (As shown above)
7) Select U21 Division and then choose the Home and Away Club from list
8) Click on Save
This will then take you to the next page where you will be able to add the necessary Yellow/Red card reports by following the on screen instructions.