Intramural Sports
Soccer Rules
Policies and Procedures:
1. All rules in the Intramural Policies and Procedures Handbook shall supercede the following rules should a conflict between the two arise. The Intramural Program Advisor will make the final determination on all rule interpretations. Campus Recreation reserves the right to add, delete, and revise rules periodically to insure fair play for all involved.
2. All rules not covered below shall be found in the NIRSA Soccer Rules.
3. All participants are required to bring a valid WVU identification card to all contests. Failure to do so will result in that player being unable to participate in that contest.
4. All players must be on the roster 24 hours before each game. When games are played on Sunday or Monday, players must be added by 11:00am the previous Friday. Player Addition sheets must be placed in the Intramural Player Addition Drop Box in order to be added to rosters. Player Additions are only accepted through the third game of the season.
5. Participants must meet all other eligibility requirements stated in the Policies and Procedures Handbook.
6. The officials' and supervisors' authority and jurisdiction will be in effect in and around the field of play.
7. Captain's Ejection Policy: Any captain, player or spectator ejected from a game for conduct reasons will be suspended for at least one game and must follow the ejection procedures listed in the Policies and Procedures Handbook. The captain's ejection policy shall be in effect for all contests. Any player or spectator ejected from a contest after their captain has received a warning to control his team's and/or spectator's actions should result in the captain also being ejected for the remainder of the contest. According to the captain's ejection policy, for each player ejected, the team must play a player shorthanded. The captain may be replaced on the field, unless he/she has been ejected for his/her own conduct, rather than those of his/her players and/or spectators. Any player ejected in the last league game or during play-offs, must meet with the program manager and program assistant director in order to determine result of the incident.
8. Sportsmanship: Sportsmanship is rated on a score of 1 to 5, 5 being the best and 1 being the worst sportsmanlike. Teams are required to average a sportsmanship rating of 3 in the regular season in addition to having a sufficient won-loss record in order to qualify for the playoffs. Once in the playoffs, teams must finish each game with at least a 3 in sportsmanship rating to advance to the next round. Teams must earn a 3 sportsmanship rating in the championship game to win the championship. See the Policy and Procedures Handbook for more information.
9. Jersey Color: No teams are permitted to wear black jerseys. Teams are asked to wear jerseys of the same color. If it is judged that too many different jersey colors are creating confusion, one team may be required to wear pinnies provided by Campus Recreation.
10. Attire: All players must wear gym shoes, tennis shoes, or molded rubber cleats. Bare feet are not allowed. Street shoes and metal spikes are not allowed. All participants, including goalies, must wear protective shin guards for all contests. If a participant does not wear shin guards, he/she will not be allowed to play. Cardboard and paper do not count as shin guards. It is strongly recommended that goalies wear knee and elbow protectors. If a player loses a shin-guard during play, player must be removed from the game, he or she is able to return when the shin guard is replaced. If a player does not have shin guards on and is told to put them on and refuses, then the game will be called as a forfeit, due to the use of on illegal player. A PLAYER MUST HAVE SHIN GUARDS ON.
11. Forfeit time: Game time is forfeit time. No extra time will be given for players or teams to arrive.
12. Scorekeeping: Each team is responsible for furnishing a scorekeeper, whether it is a player or spectator. The team captains shall decide on the scorekeeping process in whatever they see fit. If a team fails to keep score for a particular half, they will forfeit all goals scored in that half. Team captains are ultimately responsible for proper scorekeeping.
13. Teams may bring their own soccer balls.
14. Jewelry: No player may wear jewelry including but not limited to watches, bracelets, necklaces, earrings, and various body rings. If a player is not willing to remove the jewelry he/she will not be permitted to play. In addition, no rubber bands will be allowed to be worn on wrists during play.
15. If a player is bleeding, the game must be stopped and the wound must be covered. All clothing in blood must be cleaned or removed. The player must sit out at least until the next dead ball after he/she leaves the game before being allowed back in. The same applies to an injured player if the game must be halted to attend to them.
16. Bench Clearing: Any player that leaves the bench during a game to rush the field will be ejected from the game.
17. Equipment: The soccer ball must be a size 5 ball.
The Game:
1. Pre-Game: A pre-game coin flip will take place. The winner will have the following options: 1) take the opening tap, 2) take the tap to start the second half, 3) defend a particular goal in the first half. The loser of the flip will take a remaining option. No team may get the ball to start both halves. Teams will switch goals at halftime.
2. Game Length: Each game will consist of two 15-minute halves. The clock will not stop except for injuries and to replace a ball.
3. Time outs: No time-out will be awarded for a soccer game
4. Half-time: Half-time will be 3 minutes
5. A team consists of six players, including a goalie. A team must have four players, in addition to a goalie to start.
6. Due to field size, there are no offsides.
7. Slide Tackling: Slide tackling is not allowed. A slide tackle is defined as a full, baseball-style slide in which contact, however minimal, is made with an opponent, whether the ball is stripped away in the process or not. Half-slides are legal. A half-slide is when a player slides on one knee and does not fully extend into a baseball-style slide. Full slides in which no contact is made with an opponent are also legal. Slide tackling shall carry the following penalties:
8. The first slide tackle by any member of a team in a contest shall result in the captain being warned.
9. The second slide tackle by any member of a team, whether that particular player committed the first team violation or not, shall result in that player being issued a yellow card.
10. The third slide tackle by any member of a team, whether or not that member had committed a previous slide tackle, shall result in that player being issued a red card, and his/her team playing one player shorthanded for the remainder of the contest.
11. Exception: The officials have the right to bypass any warning and go immediately to a yellow or red card if the official feels the slide tackle was blatant. A Yellow Card is s substitutable ejection, while a Red Card is an non-substitutable ejection.
12. Substitutions: Free substitutions are allowed. Players must wait for a whistle, and then notify the official that they wish to substitute. The official must grant permission before any substitution occurs.
13. Goal Box: No goal is awarded if the ball was inside the goal box when an attempted shot took place. If this occurs, the defense will be granted a goal kick. If no goal is scored on an attempt inside the box, play will continue. An offensive player may in the goal box, may make contact with the ball, but may not score. Any obstruction of the goalie will result in a penalty.
14. If a team kicks a ball out of play over one of the sidelines, the opposition will be granted a free, indirect kick-in from the spot on the sideline where the ball crossed over out of play.
15. If a kicked or thrown ball hits the ceiling, the ball will be given to the opposition for a kick-in on the sideline nearest to where the ball hit.
16. A defensive player must allow 3 yards between one self and the ball on a free kick.
17. All goals are worth one point.
18. Tied games go into a shoot out.
19. A defensive player can score on their own goal, even from inside the goal box.
Penalty Kicks:
1. All free kicks, including goal kicks, corner kicks, kick-ins, etc., will be indirect. Exception: Penalty kicks during shoot outs contests will be direct.
2. Corner Kicks: Corner kicks are taken at the foul line.
Goalie:
1. The goalie is not allowed to touch the ball with his or her hands outside of the goal box; however, the goalie may field the ball with his or her feet. Failure will result in an indirect kick from the spot of the foul. If the goalie has possession of the ball and his/her momentum carries him/her out of bounds, the official will make a determination on whether the ball will be turned over based on blatant the infraction is.
2. The goalie must get rid of the ball within five seconds after gaining possession of the ball, either with the hand or foot. The count will not restart if the goalie picks up the ball off the ground. Failure will result in the opposition getting a free indirect kick from the tap circle. The goalie may not throw or kick the ball past mid-court.
3. The goalie is allowed to pick up both kick-ins and other passes from teammates. In this instance, the goalie may play the ball past mid-court.
Games ending in a tie:
Games ending in a tie will immediately go to a shootout. The shootout rules are as follows:
1) Only players legally on the playing field at the time the 2nd half clock expires will be allowed to participate in the shootout.
2) A coin flip will take place. The winner will have the following options: 1) shoot first, 2) defend first, 3) play the shootout on a particular half of the field. The loser of the coin flip will take a remaining option. The order of teams and the goal shot on will remain the same for the entire shootout.
3) Each team will take a minimum of five shots on a goal from the designated penalty kick spot.
4) Teams are still responsible for keeping score and for their sportsmanship ratings.
5) Teams will alternate shots. Team A will shot, then Team B, then Team A, then Team B, etc.
6) The teams will alternate shots until each team takes five shots or until one team clinches the win, whichever comes first.
7) All shootout kicks are direct.
8) The defense may switch goalies before any shot.
9) If after five shots the game is still tied, teams will alternate one shot each until a winner is determined.
10) Each player must shoot once before any one shoots a second time. Goalies must shoot at some point in that order.
11) The order may be switched once a team has used every eligible player to shoot. This can be done every time a team goes completely through its order.
12) If a team has less than five players eligible to shoot, they may change their order after every player has shot. Every player must then shoot one time before the order can be changed again.
13) A goalie is not able to move until the shot is taken. It the goalie moves, then the shot will be re-shot.
All rules for men's and women's contests will apply to co-rec contests except for the following:
Teams must have three men and three women to start the game. No other combination is acceptable.
When the ball makes contact with the following, the ball is considered IN PLAY:
1) ALL hardwood (basketball court) from one end of the gym to the other.
2) On the near side, Any ball that makes contact with the angled portion of the wall or below the angled portion of the wall.
3) On the far side, any ball that makes contact with the FIRST layer of brick from the bottom or any heater in front of that layer of brick.
4) Behind the goals, any ball that bounces off the brick wall behind the goals is IN PLAY UNLESS AND UNTIL IT TOUCHES A PIECE OF CEMENT OR TOUCHES A CHIN-UP BAR ON THE FAR WALL. If it bounces off the wall directly back onto the hardwood without touching a piece of cement, it is IN PLAY.
1. ANY PIECE OF CEMENT, INCLUDING THE CEMENT DIRECTLY IN FRONT OF THE BRICK WALLS BEHIND THE GOALS, AND CEMENT ANYWHERE IN THE GYM, IS OUT OF PLAY. ONCE AND ONLY ONCE THE BALL HAS MADE CONTACT WITH THE CEMENT, THE BALL IS DEAD.
2. On the near sideline, any ball that hits above the angled portion of the wall is OUT OF PLAY.
3. On the far sideline, any ball that makes contact with anything above the first layer of brick from the bottom is OUT OF PLAY. This includes the glass and any brick above the first layer of brick.
4. Behind the goals, any ball that hits a chin-up, an overhang (the ones with the banners hanging on them for ROTC, etc), or hits underneath one of these overhangs is OUT OF PLAY. Any ball that hits the back side of the net is OUT OF PLAY.
5. If the ball goes into the loft, it is OUT OF PLAY.
6. Any ball that makes contact with a backboard, rim, net, post, or any hanging metal bar, the ceiling, or anything hanging from the ceiling, the candy machine is OUT OF PLAY.
SLIDE TACKLING:
Slide Tackling is a full baseball-style slide in which contact is made with the opposition as a result of the slide If no contact is made, then it is not considered a slide tackle and no foul shall be assessed.
Half slides: Legal at all times.
SLIDE TACKLE PENALITIES:
The first slide tackle by a team in a match shall result in the captain being warned by the official.
The second slide tackle by a team in a match shall result in that player being yellow carded and his/her captain being instructed that the next violation by a member of that team shall result in the offending player being red carded.
The third slide tackle by a team in a match shall result in the offending player being red-carded and that team playing a player shorthanded for the duration of the match.