PLAYING SEASON. CONDITIONS OF PLAY

TIMES OF KICK-OFF. POSTPONEMENTS. SUBSTITUTES

 

10.       (A) The Annual General Meeting shall determine the commencing and concluding dates for the ensuing season which shall be in accordance with Football Association Rules. No Club shall be compelled to play after the concluding date. Original fixtures arranged by the Fixtures Secretary, or at a meeting specially convened for that purpose, to be held no later than 31st July, must not be arranged for a date later than seven days preceding the concluding date.

 

            If mutually arranged at a meeting a list of fixtures must be forwarded to the Fixtures Secretary within seven days of the meeting. Fixtures are deemed to be accepted unless objections are received by the Fixtures Secretary within fourteen days of their issue.

 

            Any Club failing to be represented at a fixture meeting or otherwise infringing this Rule shall be liable for a fine of £5.00 and the Management Committee or the Fixtures Secretary shall arrange that Club’s fixtures.

 

            (B) All matches shall be played in accordance with the Laws of the Game as determined by the International Football Association Board.

 

            Clubs must take all reasonable precautions to keep their grounds in a playable condition. All matches shall be played on pitches deemed suitable by the Management Committee. If through any fault of the home team a match has to be replayed, the Management Committee shall have power to order the venue to be changed.

 

            The Management Committee shall have power to decide whether a pitch and/or facilities are suitable for matches in the Competition and to order the Club concerned to play its fixtures on another ground.

 

            All matches shall have a duration of 90 minutes unless a shorter time (not less than 70 minutes) is mutually arranged by the two captains in consultation with the referee prior to the commencement of the match, and in any event shall be of equal halves.

 

            The times of kick-off shall be fixed by the Management Committee. Any Club failing to commence at the appointed time shall be fined a sum not exceeding £10.00 or be otherwise dealt with as the Management Committee may determine.

 

Referees must order matches to commence at the appointed time and must report all late starts to the Competition.

 

            The home team must provide at least two footballs fit for play and the referee shall make a report to the Competition if the footballs are unsuitable. Goal nets must be used.

 

            Corner flags must be supplied, any team failing to supply corner flags shall be fined £10.00.

 

            (C) Except by permission of the Management Committee all matches must be played on the dates originally fixed but priority shall be given to The Football Association and all relevant County Association Cup Competitions. All other matches must be considered secondary. Clubs may mutually agree to bring forward a match with the consent of the Fixtures Secretary.

 

            In the case of a revised fixture date, the Clubs must be given by the Competition 5 clear days notice of the match (unless otherwise mutually agreed).

 

            (D) The Secretary of the home Club must give notice in writing of full particulars of the location of, and access to, the ground and time of kick-off to the match officials and the Secretary of the opposing Club at least four clear days prior to the playing of the match. The match officials and away Club shall seek and acknowledge receipt of such particulars.

 

            Any Club failing to comply with this Rule shall be liable to a fine of £5.00.

 

            (E) In the event of a Club playing in any match with less than eleven players they shall be fined 25p for each missing player. A minimum of eight players will constitute a team for a Competition match.

 

            (F) Home and away matches shall be played. In the event of a Club failing to keep its engagement the Management Committee shall have power to inflict a fine, deduct points from the defaulting Club, award the points from the match in question to the opponents, order the defaulting Club to pay any expenses incurred by the opponents or otherwise deal with them except the award of goals. Not withstanding the foregoing home and away provision, the Management Committee shall have power to order a match to be played on a neutral ground or on the opponent's ground if they are satisfied that such action is warranted by the circumstances.

 

            Any Club with more than one team in the Competition shall always fulfil its fixture, within the Competition, in the following order of precedence:- First Team, Reserve Team, A Team. Clubs in breach of this requirement shall be fined a sum not exceeding £25.00 or otherwise dealt with by the Management Committee.

 

            Any Club unable to fulfil a fixture must, without delay, give notice to the Fixtures Secretary, the Competition Referees Appointments Secretary, the Secretary of the opposing Club and the match officials. Any Club failing to comply shall be dealt with by the Management Committee who may inflict a fine.

 

            In the event of a match not being played or abandoned owing to causes over which neither Club has control, it shall be played in its entirety on a date to be mutually agreed by the two Clubs and approved by the Management Committee. Failing such agreement and notification to the Fixtures Secretary within 14 days the Management Committee shall have power to order the match to be played on a named date or on or before a given date.

           

            The Management Committee shall review all matches abandoned in cases where it is consequent upon the conduct of either or both Teams. Where it is to the advantage of the Competition and does no injustice to either Club, the Management Committee shall be empowered to order the score at the time of the abandonment to stand. In all cases where the Management Committee are satisfied that a match was abandoned owing to the conduct of one team or its Club member(s) they shall be empowered to award the points for the match to the opponent. In cases where a match has been abandoned owing to the conduct of both teams or their Club member(s), the Management Committee shall rule all points for the match as void. No fine(s) can be applied by the Management Committee for an abandoned match.

 

            (G) A Club may at its discretion and in accordance with the Laws of the Game use 3 substitute players in any match in this Competition who may be selected from five players.

 

            The referee shall be informed of the names of the substitutes not later than two minutes before the start of the match.

 

            A player who has been selected, appointed or named as a substitute before the start of the match but does not actually play in the game shall not be considered to have been a player in that game within the meaning of Rule 8 of this Competition.

 

            (H) The half time interval shall be of five minutes duration, but it shall not exceed fifteen minutes. The half time interval may only be altered with the consent of the referee.

 

            (I) Not in use.