ONLINE TRAINING RESOURCES

THE LAWS OF THE GAME

The most current edition of the Laws of the Game is available here: 2009-10 Laws of the Game. When you register for 2010 (during fall 2009), you will receive a printed copy of this.

There is now a document that is to be considered to be integral to the Laws called “Interpretation of the Laws of the Game and Guidelines for Referees.” It is not included in the printed copy of US Soccer’s version of the 2010 Laws but can be found as the second half of FIFA’s Laws of the Game or here as a standalone document. Referees wishing to progress will study the “interpretation” document.

OTHER IMPORTANT DOCUMENTS AND SOURCES OF OFFICIAL INFORMATION

The “Laws of the Game” is only the basis of a referee education. There are a number of other key documents that referees will find either essential or very helpful. All are available online, the key documents can also be purchased (though not necessarily in their most current form) at the USSF Referee Ordering Site.

The 2009-10 USSF Advice to Referees is, for the first time, available online in a form that can be downloaded, printed and searched. It will likely also be available for purchase from USSF. It is expected to have been read by referees wishing to officiate any competitive game.

The 2008-09 USSF Guide to Procedures is available online. This contains key information about the responsibilities of the officials, signals, communication, and the procedures to be followed at different game situations. The handful of changes to this publication for 2010 are described here.

A series of ten Referee Directives that are intended to provide a more unified and consistent approach in key areas of game management. Many of these documents originated in analyses of match situations in MLS games. These are published on a weekly basis during the MLS season as a Week in Review segment that contains many helpful video clips. All of the material from the 2008 MLS season is archived at this same location.

USSF provides periodic guidance on specific issues in the form of its Position Papers. Some of these are illustrated by online hosted either by YouTube or Google. Some key ones include  7 + 7 Sending Off and Cautionable Off Offenses.

 USSF provides official responses to questions posed to them at USSF Ask a Soccer Referee. This site is frequently updated and includes an archive of questions and answers going back several years.

LOCAL RULES

It is essential that referees understand and follow local rule modifications designed to make the game safe and enjoyable. Please print out these High Noon Soccer League Local Rules and put them in your bag. Also follow these rules on Handling Player Pass Cards.

There are a number of items in the rules for the Mesilla Valley Soccer League relevant to the refereeing of adult games. Referees doing these games need to be aware of them.

UNOFFICIAL BUT VALUABLE REFEREEING WEBSITES

There are numerous websites that contain referee “wisdom”. Some are more valuable than others (all information on sites not endorsed by FIFA or USSF should be evaluated critically).

The best online community of referees is SocRef-L. It is frequented by very experienced and knowledgeable referees, and the topics discussed are often very interesting.

The best referee blog is For the Integrity of Soccer, written by Robert Evans. There is also an official USSF blog written by National referees called "Official Take".