2009 Referee Directives

CHICAGO (March 10, 2009) -- The 2009 U.S. Soccer Referee Directives are now available online. They can be found under the Referee Development area on the U.S. Soccer webpage. The ten (10) Directives are provided to assist in the management of games at the highest levels and, hence, are of interest not only to match officials but coaches and administrators as well. The objective of the Directives is to provide a more unified and consistent approach in key areas of game management.

100% Misconduct - Tactical and Red Card Tackles (.pdf)

Assistant Referee Involvement (.pdf)

Contact Above the Shoulder (.pdf)

Dissent (.pdf)

Free Kick and Restart Management (.pdf)

Game Disrepute and Mass Confrontation (.pdf)

Game Management Model - Flow Risk Taking Game Control (.pdf)

Handling the Ball (.pdf)

Injury Management (.pdf)

Managing the Technical Area (.pdf)