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From the USSF Referee Administrative Handbook (1996) and the TSSAS Referee Handbook (1997).
Referee Assault is an intentional act of any physical violence or personal attack upon a Referee, his equipment, or property (including his vehicle).
Physical Violence or Personal Attack includes but is not limited to such things as hitting, kicking, pushing, slapping, choking, spitting at or on, grabbing, or bodily running into a Referee; grabbing a Referee's personal equipment such as red or yellow cards, notebook, or whistle, or knocking any such items out of his hand; kicking or throwing any object at a Referee that could inflict injury, such as rocks, dirt, a stick, pipe, can, or shoe; or damaging the Referee's uniform or personal property, including his vehicle,
Referee Abuse is any verbal statement or physical act which implies or threatens physical harm and therefore cannot be ignored or overlooked by any official concerned with his, or his family's, personal safety. Abuse includes but is not limited to offensive, insulting, or abusive language directed toward the Referee; spewing any beverage on a Referee's personal property; or verbal threats.
Verbal threats carry the direct or implied threat of physical harm, such as: "I'll get you after the game!", "You won't get out of here in one piece!", or "I'd better not find out where you live!".
Assaults do happen, even to experienced Referees. If such assaults are to be stamped out, Referees must follow a sensible and consistent course of action that will enable their State Associations to punish offenders, and to discourage potential offenders from acts of violence. A Referee should react to an assault in a manner that will permit administration and enforcement agencies to do their jobs.
It is important for the Referee to remember that any such assault is not his fault! There is no excuse for a player, coach, or spectator resorting to physical attack, threats, or abuse, no matter how upset he is with the Referee. Such actions cannot be tolerated and must be reported!
Never strike back if such action can be avoided. Defend yourself as passively as possible. When a Referee is struck, the majority of players and bystanders are automatically sympathetic toward him, even if they were previously hostile. If the Referee chooses to slug it out, he stands to lose the support and calming influence of these people. This may also prejudice the Referee's own legal position.
Try to remain calm and avoid undue signs of stress. Maintain a standard of behaviour befitting a professional.
Get the details down on paper (when things are under control). Get the person's name from the team captain, coach, or other non-involved person.
Send off the person if possible. If not, be prepared to abandon the game if the person is not completely removed from the area. Advise the captain, the coach, or other responsible adult of your decision.
Obtain the names and telephone numbers of witnesses. Consult your Assistant Referees, if any, or any unattached bystanders. Use the other players only as a last resort. Do not be concerned about holding up the game; common assault is a criminal offense and must be treated seriously. Make notes to be sure that your subsequent report is accurate. After the game, discuss the incident with your witnesses. This is quite legal as no charges have been filed at this stage. Get your facts straight!
Seek medical attention if you are injured. Go to the nearest hospital emergency room or trauma clinic. The medical personnel will not only treat your injuries, but will also provide documentation of them for the record.
Upon returning home after the game, contact by telephone the President of Bay Area Soccer Referee Association and the State Referee Administrator (see Sec. 1.6). These individuals will then be aware of the incident, and will be in a position to give support and advice.
Provide official notification by the next business day to the State Referee Administrator and the President of the State Association, or his designee, and follow up with a complete written report.
File a written Referee Report within 48 hours of the incident. The report must be professional, precise, informative, not too brief, not too long. Above all, it must be accurate. The report should be accompanied by written reports from your Assistant Referees (if any) and by copies of any other misconduct reports required by the sponsoring Playing Association. (A word of advice... refer to the incident as "misconduct toward an official" rather than classifying it as either abuse or assault. Making that classification on the report could lead to it being rejected for reporting the wrong offense.)
Send copies of the report to the Playing Association, the President of BASRA, the SRA, and the President of TSSAS. For youth matches, also send copies to the SYRA and STYSA.
For tournaments or special events, the tournament director or event coordinator must be notified in writing the day of the incident, and the Referee's home state SRA (if out of state) within ten (10) days.
In the event the assault is serious enough, you should consider reporting the situation to the local police. If you do this, you should notify all persons mentioned above that you will do, or have done, so.
The USSF Referee Report and the USSF Supplementary Report are three-part NCR forms and may be obtained through your Club Liaison, BASRA Referee Development Chair, or BASRA President. They are also available through the BASRA Web Site as downloadable forms.
After completing the Report, one copy should be retained for your records, one copy filed with the local Playing Association (League), and the original filed with the State Association; this is indicated on the three-part form. Photocopies should be filed with the SRA, the SYRA if a Youth match, and the BASRA President. Contact information for BASRA Referees is shown in Section 1.6.
While TSSAS/STYSA, and many other State Associations, will accept properly completed photocopies of these forms, and even faxes or e-mails, you should check with the SRA for the currently correct protocol.
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Last page update September 1, 1999