LWRPL 8v8 LEAGUE RULES

General:
The LWRPL league is a recreational adult soccer league for men and women. The
purpose of the league is to promote and support adult soccer play in a friendly and
family-like environment in the Manatee County area. FIFA and USSF rules govern
OUR LEAGUES play, except as amended by these rules.
It is the intent of OUR LEAGUES to
Promote the game of soccer in a spirit of teamwork, fair play and
sportsmanship.
Provide coherent competition among area players and soccer teams.
Develop and foster interest in soccer in the Bradenton /Sarasota area.
These rules are broken into four major areas
Participation in OUR LEAGUES
League Operations
Scoring and points calculations
Deviations from FIFA and USSF rules

Participation in OUR LEAGUES:

Players and coaches joining OUR LEAGUES must follow any additional guidelines
found within these LEAGUE rules.
ROSTER All teams are required to provide a list of players at the beginning of the
season no later than game Two (2). If roster isnt provided before week#2 all other
games will result in a forfeit. After game#3 and before game#8, teams can make
roster changes by sending an email to the league 24 hours previous to the game
taking place at the cost of $10 per roster change; this applies ones your full team fee
has been paid in full. Unregistered players on a team will also be the cause of a
forfeit which equals to the loss of the game plus a penalty of minus 2 pts from their
standings. After the 8th game of the season there shall be NO more changes to any
team rosters.
LEAGUE FEES Half the team fee is due 2 months before the season starts. Full
payment is due on week 1. If this is not the case, there is $100 late fee. $25.00 will be
charged on return checks. Returned checks will not be re-deposited.
CROSSOVERS A player will be allowed to switch teams only 1 time during a
season with previous approval from the League Director. Players are allowed to
play in different divisions during the same season as long as they fulfill the age
requirements and have paid their fees.
PLAYER IDENTIFICATION- All players are required to register on the league
website with a current picture. If the player does not have a current picture on the
website, they are required to check-in at the league registration table prior to game
time with a valid picture ID.
PLAYER RESPONSIBILITIES - Yellow cards (2-minute penalty) don't carry to the
next game. A red card issued is expected to carry an automatic 1-game suspension
minimum; a double-yellow card does not carry a suspension. A suspended player
will sit out only for the division that he was suspended for unless he is considered a
threat to the safety of another individual. Suspensions do NOT carry over other
divisions and/or other nights. Accumulation of 3 red cards in the same season will
result in suspension from the league for six months, dated from the date of the last
card that causes the suspension. The suspended individual must also take and pass a
referee training class and provide a letter of completion from the instructor before
allowed to re-enter OUR LEAGUES league play. NOTE: THESE DO NOT APPLY
TO RED CARDS AS A RESULT OF FIGHTING OR OTHER DANGEROUS
PLAY. See the PLAYER CONDUCT section for suspension information as a result
of fighting.
MANAGERS MEETING The league will conduct one mandatory managers
meeting every season. Each team is required to be present at this meeting for the
entire meeting. A team can be represented by somebody other than its manager.
One manager can represent 2 teams as long as he/she is part of that team. Teams
that are not represented at this meeting will be penalized with a minus 2 points from
the current standings. Teams that show up late or leave early (10 minutes for more)
will also be penalized with minus 1 pt from their current standings. No exceptions.

This rule was created because it is well known that managers meetings will not be
attended by the big majority otherwise.

League Operations:
OUR LEAGUE WEB SITE - OUR LEAGUES operate a web site at
http://www.lakewoodranchpremierleague.com. Each web site provides the latest
information on league operations and should be consulted weekly for all questions
concerning OUR LEAGUES.
SEASONS OUR LEAGUE runs 4 seasons per year in Manatee County. The
Spring season runs from April through June. Summer season runs from July
through September, Fall season runs October through December and Winter season
runs from January through March. There is generally NO break in between
seasons. The All-Star game will take place in late Dec or in early January.
TEAM DIVISION PLACEMENT - Teams will be placed in divisions based on level
of experience and participation in the league and availability. In the given case that
there are 2 divisions in the same age group (same day) the winner of the lower
division will be moved up to the upper division and the team that ends in last place
of the upper division will be moved down to the lower division.
FINALS - At the end of the regular season, the top four teams will advance to the
play-offs. If there are four teams in a division, all four teams will advance to the
play-offs. For quarter-final play, the lower ranked team MUST beat the higher
ranked team in order to move on. For semi-finals teams will go directly to penalty
kicks in case of a tie (with restricted time on weeknights, teams may have to do
penalty kicks previous to their game.) The final games will be 30 min halves and if
there is no winner, there will be two 5-minute golden-goal halves. If there is no
winner, there will be a best of 3 penalty kicks (in coed 1 of the 3 has to be a female
player), 10 steps back from the goal line. If no winner still, teams will continue until
somebody wins. In case that the lights go off and there is no winner still, the game
will be decided on a coin-toss.
SCHEDULE CHANGES - Once a schedule is published to the web site, no changes
will be made unless there is an unexpected logistical problem that arises. The only
other exception is weather related changes. If this is the case, all managers will be
notified of the change(s) electronically. Weather and field availability permitting, all
teams will play 10 match series.
MAKEUP GAMES AND CANCELLATIONS A match is considered official once
the 1st half has been completed. If play must be halted after the start of play, but
before the half is complete, the scheduler will make every attempt to reschedule the
shortened game. However, if field, weather or other situations preclude timely
rescheduling, the game may not be replayed. If this occurs, the score standing will
be used as the final score of the game. If a play-off game is approved to be
rescheduled, the requesting team will be required to pay for the referee fee, plus the

field rental fee and the lights cost if game is played under the lights. This cost runs
about $75 per game. Regular season games can not be rescheduled.
FORFEIT - Failure to have a minimum amount of players to show-up (5 on 8v8)
will result in a forfeit for that team. Referees will allow a ten-minute grace period
from posted start time to field a team. Their will be a $50 forfeit fee assessed to the
team that forfeits the game and will be due before next game can be played. A twopoint deduction from the offending teams division standing will be reduced for the
forfeit. The team that wins by default will add maximum points to their division
standings 3 points and 3 goals.
PLAYER CONDUCT - Players are responsible for fair, sportsmanlike and polite
behavior at all times. NO fighting will be tolerated. Foul, vile or vulgar language
MUST not be used on the field either toward other players or to yourself in general.
Referees are instructed to card offenders. Any fight will result in immediate oneyear suspension without a refund to whoever throws the first punch. All other
individuals who get involved in a fight will be also suspended for at least six months
according to managers, referees, and other witnesses reports. Racial abuse will not
be tolerated. Assault includes the following acts committed upon a referee: hitting,
kicking, punching, choking, spitting at, or on, grabbing, stepping on, or running into
a referee; the act of kicking or throwing any object at a referee that could inflict
injury, damaging the referees uniform or personal property. Referee abuse is also
defined as a verbal attack or physical approach that implies or threatens physical
harm to a referee or the referees property or equipment. Verbal threats are
remarks that carry the implied or direct threat of physical harm. Threats such as:
"Ill get you after the game" or "You won't get out of here in one piece" shall be
deemed referee abuse. Commission of any of the preceding acts will carry a 6 month
to one-year suspension from OUR LEAGUES.
REFEREES - All decisions made by the referees assigned to matches are final. USSF
and referees in training are contracted to referee league games, if you have a
problem with the referees that officiate the games, we suggest that you look into
leagues on the north side. No appeals will be accepted pertaining to decisions by the
referee. No player or individual shall enter the field of play without the referee's
express permission except during substitutions.
REFUNDS - Once entered on the schedule, no team or player shall receive a refund
for any reason. Refunds to players during the season are the responsibility of the
team managers.
UNIFORMS - All teams are required to wear uniforms in order to play. Matching
jerseys (no t-shirts allowed please) are required and must be numbered. Shorts and
socks do not necessarily need to be of the same brand name or style but have to be of
the same color (or very similar such as navy blue & black. Clashing colors will not
be allowed such as wearing green instead of red or orange instead of royal blue).
Teams are expected to fulfill this requirement no later than game 3. A referee shall

disallow a player from the field of play until he or she is wearing his or her team
matching colors. If player refuses to change then he shall not be allowed to play. In
case both teams are wearing the same color, the HOME team must have an
alternative option to change colors (bibs are fine). If home team does not have a
back up plan, the home team will be required to FORFEIT the game.
OLDER DIVISIONS In the older divisions, teams are allowed to have some
younger players as follow: a total of 2 years under age can be used but a maximum
of 2 players in any combination possible thereof i.e. Two 28 year olds for the over-30
league, etc.
GRIEVANCE POLICY/PROTEST - A grievance/protest is a complaint with a
suggested resolution. The only matters that are grievable protestable are treatment
of players by coaches, actions of spectators, or any clear violation of the rules that
has escaped the attention of the League Director. Any grievance/protest shall be filed
in writing, with a $50 nonrefundable protest fee, to the league within three days of
the action under protest. Upon receipt, the League Referee Director will review the
relevant facts, appoint a managers panel (from other unrelated divisions) and
render a determination, in writing, to the protestor within seven days. The following
items, while not exclusive, are not grievable/protestable:

OUR LEAGUES rules

Referee decisions

Decisions regarding suspensions

SCORING AND POINT CALCULATIONS:
Teams will lose standing points for red cards issued to team members during
matches.
Red card (loss of 1 point for each card received)
Deviations from FIFA and USSF Laws of the Game for 8 vs 8
Unless otherwise indicated here, all Laws of the Game as prescribed in FIFAs
sanctioning bodies rulebooks will apply to all OUR LEAGUES matches.
Law 1: The Field of Play. Local conditions may mandate use of non-standard or
sub-optimal fields. The field size used will be 80 X 50 or 70 X 45.
Law 3: The Number of Players. Teams will play with a maximum of 8 players at
one time depending on the division. Free-substitutions are permitted for both teams
at any time avoiding having extra players on the field at one time. A 5 player
minimum is required to start the game to avoid a forfeit. In the coed divisions, 1 girl
minimum needs to be present to start the game to avoid a forfeit.
Law 7: Duration of the Match. If weather or field conditions mandate, and with the
concurrence of both involved coaches, matches may be shortened from the normal
25 minute halves.
Law 8: Start and Restart of Play. From a goal kick and/or a goalie punt, ball needs
to be touched by any player or ball has to bounce on own half to be playable, this
includes drop-kicks. Goalie throws ARE allowed to cross the half line.

Law 11: Offside. There will not be any offside position. However, on direct or
indirect kicks it is not allowed to screen the goal keeper (mainly to avoid injury).
The goal keeper shall be allowed at least 2 yards from any opponent. Corner kicks
are the exception.
Law 12: The Wall. The distance of the wall shall be 8 yards for 8v8. Every dead
ball situation will be considered as a direct-kick. Defending teams are required to
give attacking team their automatic 8 yards without being asked to do it. Referees
are encouraged to card players who do not allow teams to do quick starts.
Law 20: Throw-ins. There will be no throw-ins. Instead, teams will do a DIRECT
kick from point where ball went out.
COED ONLY: Each team WILL NEED at least THREE female players on the field
at all times during each one of the games. If only one or two females are present,
then the team will play short, if all three female players are missing, team will have
to forfeit the game. Female goals count as 2 pts.
Mercy Rule: Match scores will only reflect a maximum of 5 goal differential i.e. 5-0,
6-1, 7-2, 8-3, etc.
Slide Tackling and Sliding: Slide tackling is the action used by a player when
he/she reaches down on the ground in order to win the ball from an opponent and
this is NOT allowed in the coed or older divisions. Sliding without trying to win
the ball from another opponent (i.e. saving the ball from going out of bounce or a
scoring situation) is permissible as long as there are no other players around within
a 3 yard distance. In other words, sliding to score a goal while the goalie is in close
proximity is NOT allowed. Sliding to save the ball from going out of bounce with
nobody near IS ALLOWED. However, the ruling on this is always to the referees
discretion but always according to the above rule.
SEASON POINT TIE-BRACKERS:
In case of point ties, the tie will be broken in this order:
1.
Goal difference
2.
Goals for
3.
Goals against
4.
Head-to-head competition
5.
Least amount of red-cards received
6.
Coin toss.
During play-offs, ties will be broken as follows:
During the quarter-finals, the lower ranked team MUST win the game to move on.
In case of a tie, the higher ranked team will qualify to the next round. There is NO
overtime.
During semi-finals (if time & field availability allows it) and finals, teams will play
two 5 minute sudden death (Golden Goal) halves. If teams are still tied after the
first 5 minute over time, the second five minute Golden Goal half shall be played
without the goalies but still 8vs8. If tie persists, teams will go to a 3-3 shots from the
mark until somebody wins or until the lights go off. In Coed division at least one
girl needs to take a PK and the first 3.
If this is the case a simple coin toss will determine who gets recorded as season
champion and who will be the runner-up.

* If there is any disagreement with regards to the above rules, it will be the League
Directors responsibility to interpret such rules to the parties affected. The League
Director shall have the final word on any rule interpretation issue.