It has become apparent to Football NSW that some Clubs are treating trial matches in a manner that is not to

the standard required of State League football, both at senior and youth league levels.

There have been several reports of unsavory incidents over the past two weekends, including all-in brawls, four

or five players being dismissed from the field of play in a single match, abuse of referees, disgraceful behavior

of coaches and managers on benches and unruly spectators.

All Clubs are advised that the following procedures are to be adopted immediately for all trial matches:

All referee appointments are to be confirmed with the appropriate referee appointments officer

seven (7) days prior to the match. If this is not done, referees will not be appointed.

All payments to referees are to be made BEFORE KICK-OFF. If this is not done, the referee

will not referee the match.

Clubs are NOT to seek the appointment of just one official, it is a ruling from the referees that

they are not to officiate at State League matches on their own.

Team sheets are to be used for ALL matches. If you are using more than sixteen (16) players,

then use a second team sheet and attach them.

Team sheets are to be retained by the host club for insurance and disciplinary purposes. If a

team sheet is not available for insurance purposes the player will not be covered by our

insurance policy.

All players MUST have a number on their playing strip, if they do not have a number on the

strip, the referee will not permit the player to take the field.

The referees have been advised that all send offs are to be reported in the usual manner so

they can be dealt with by Football NSW. Players will no longer simply be afforded the luxury of

committing send off offences and then being able to ‘cool off’ on the bench.

These are harsh rules for trial matches, however it is apparent from the past two weekends that the previous

latitude given to clubs and players for trials is being abused at an unacceptable level.

Yours sincerely,

Larry Grant,