AYSO has implemented our version of U.S. Soccer Policy 531-9 Misconduct Toward Game Officials in Amatuer Matches to apply to players, coaches and spectators. The AYSO implementation can be found in AYSO National Policies, published in the AYSO Reference Book, Section 2.E.e. on page 2:3, adopt the US Soccer Policy 531-9 by incorporating the policy and penalties into AYSO’s pertinent governing documents.

Note that Sections 1 through 7 of the US Soccer Policy 531-9 are not applicable to AYSO as our implementation of the policy is documented in the AYSO National Policies as described below.

• Section E. Duties and Responsibilities of Coaches, Referees, Officials, Other Volunteers, Spectators, Team Members and Other Participants.
  • Prohibit and abstain from making negative comments and complaints about officiating. Any abuse, assault, and/or gross misconduct directed at any match official will be disciplined in accordance with the U.S. Soccer Policy 531-9 Misconduct Toward Game Officials in Amateur Matches, which became effective March 2025.
  • Penalties/sanctions would range from a number of games to years, or even a lifetime ban, depending on the severity of the offense.
  • Offenses committed against youth officials will be punished at 3x the penalty against an adult.

Continue to process the misconduct reports in the same manner as before:

• Misconduct reports for team members (players & coaches) and Incident reports for Spectators must include the following:
  • Match details, including but not limited to team information, age group, score and date
  • Detailed statement about the incident, including the specific details of the behavior or action (i.e., assault, abuse, mistreatment)
  • Specific language - no matter how uncomfortable you may be writing it down.

The report should be delivered to the Regional Commissioner, Area Director or Section Director, depending on the competition in which the incident was reported, where the appropriate disciplinary sanctions will be determined. The Regional Commissioner, Area Director or Section Director will also send documentation of the incident, along with the outcome, to Linda Kovar at [email protected]. This will help facilitate courtesy communication with the USSF State Referee Administrator (SRA) and ensure proper record-keeping on the AYSO system end.

This guidance may also be found in the 2025 Referee Guideline.