Futsal Rules

General

1. All players must present their valid U of S student card to participate in any Campus Rec sports league.
2. Substitutes are allowed during the regular season and must have their valid U of S student card present.
3. There is a maximum of two staff/faculty allowed per team and they must pay a $75 recreation fee in order to play.
4. In order to be eligible to play in playoffs, players must have been present for at least 50% of games for the team they are registered on.
5. Treat all opponents and recreation staff with respect.
6. Jewelry such as watches and necklaces must be removed prior to game start for player safety.
7. Designated home teams wear light colours and away teams wear dark colours.

Players

1. Each team has 5 players, including the goalie.
2. Each team must have at least 2 players of the opposite gender on the field at all times.
3. A match may not start with fewer than 5 players on each team. A game is defaulted if a team does not have 5 players, 10 minutes after the scheduled start time.
4. The goalkeeper may wear specialized soccer equipment (long pants, gloves, kneepads).
5. Unlimited substitutions may be made during a game. Substitutions may be made at any time during play.
6. The substitution zones are the areas on the goal line in front of the team benches.
7. The substitute must only enter the pitch after the player being replaced has left.
8. The substitute must enter the pitch via his own team’s substitution zone.
9. All substitutes are subject to the authority and jurisdiction of the referees, whether called upon to play or not. 
10. If a period is extended to allow a penalty kick, a kick from the second penalty mark or a direct freekick without a wall to be taken, only the goalkeeper of the defending team may be substituted.
11. Any of the substitutes (coming in) may change places with the goalkeeper without informing the referees or waiting for a stoppage in the match.
12. Any player may change places with the goalkeeper. However, the player changing places with the goalkeeper must do so during a stoppage in the match and must inform the referees before the change is made.
13. The goalkeeper may play or contest the ball anywhere on the pitch. However, the ball must have crossed the halfway line or touched an opponent before the goalkeeper can receive a pass back from his teammate, after a goal clearance.

The Referee

1. All decisions made by the referee regarding the play are final.

Playing Time

1. The match is composed of two 25 minute halves and one 5 minute halftime.
2. During the regular season, games may end in a draw. No extra time will be added.
3. For playoffs, two 5 minute Sudden Death overtime periods may be added. If no deciding goal is scored, a 3 player shootout will determine the winner.

Equipment

1. The ball used is Size 3.
2. Goal nets used are 10’ wide by 8’ high.

Field of Play

1. The field of play is determined by the basketball court markings.
2. If the ball passes completely over the touch or goal lines or hits the ceiling it is out of play.
3. The ball remains in play if it rebounds off of either post or the crossbar of the goal.

Handling the ball  

1. Movement of the hand towards the ball (not the ball towards the hand) 
2. The distance between the opponent and the ball (unexpected ball) 
3. The position of the hand does not necessarily mean that there is an infringement (holding it away from the body does not imply intent) 
4. Touching the ball with an object held in the hand (clothing, shinguard, etc.) counts as deliberately handling the ball 
5. Hitting the ball with a thrown object (a boot, shinguard, etc.) counts as deliberately handling the ball

Restarting the Match

1. If a ball goes out of play over the touch line it is restarted with a kick-in at the point where it crossed.
2. If the ball touches the ceiling play is restarted with a kick in from the touchline directly below the place where the ball hit the ceiling.
3. The kick in is awarded to the opponent of the team which last touched the ball before it went out of play.
4. If the ball goes out of play over the goal line it is restarted with a goalkeeper clearance or a corner kick.
5. Goals cannot be scored directly from a touch line kick-in.
6. The ball must be stationary for a touch line kick-in.
7. Players must allow 5 meters from the place where the kick-in was taken.
8. The player taking the kick-in has 4 seconds to make a play.
9. The goalkeeper clearance is a thrown ball from within the goalkeeper’s 10 meter box.
10. During a goal clearance the keeper must make the ball hit the ground before it crosses the half line.
11. All players must be outside the penalty area during a goal clearance, otherwise, the goalkeeper must retake the goal clearance.
12. If the goal clearance is taken with attacking players inside the penalty area, the clearance is retaken if any of the attacking players touches the ball or prevents the clearance from being taken properly.
13. The goal clearance is retaken if the infringement has been committed by the team taking the clearance, the four-second count is not reset and continues once the goalkeeper is ready to retake the clearance

Fouls

1. Direct free kicks are taken from the point of an infraction, and are awarded if a player:
   • Kicks or attempts to kick an opposing player
   • Tackles or attempts to tackle a player by sliding.
   • Note: 

     Slide tackling is an action not accepted in Campus Recreation sport and will result in immediate ejection from the game. A player who has been sent off must immediately leave the vicinity of the field of play and the technical area.

   • Jumps at an opponent
   • Charges an opponent or shoulders an opponent to gain advantage
   • Pushes an opponent
   • Holds an opponent
   • Spits at an opponent
   • Touches the opponent before the ball in an attempt to gain possession
   • Handles the ball deliberately
   • A direct free kick offense is recorded as an Accumulated Foul
2. Indirect free kicks are taken from the point of an infraction, and are awarded if:
   • The goalkeeper receives the ball back from a team-mate before it has crossed the half-line or has been played by an opponent
   • The goalkeeper touches the ball with his hands after it has been deliberately kicked by a team-mate
   • The goalkeeper takes more than 4 seconds to play the ball with his hands or feet
   • A player behaves in a dangerous manner
   • A player deliberately impedes the progress of an opponent when he is not playing the ball
   • A player prevents the goalkeeper from releasing the ball from his hands
3. Penalty kicks are taken from the 10m penalty dot, and are awarded if:
   • A player handles the ball within his own penalty area
   • Any player commits a offence inside his own penalty area which would normally result in a direct free kick

Disciplinary sanctions 

There are circumstances when a caution (yellow card) for unsporting behaviour is required when a player deliberately handles the ball, e.g. when a player: 

A player is sent off, however, if he prevents a goal or an obvious goalscoring opportunity by deliberately handling the ball. This punishment arises not from the act of the player deliberately handling the ball but from the unacceptable and unfair intervention that prevented a goal from being scored.

Yellow Card

1. The Yellow Card may be shown by the referee if a player or goalkeeper:
   • Shows unsportsmanlike behavior
   • Shows dissent by word or action
   • Persistently commits fouls
   • Delays the restart of play

Red Card

1. In the event of a Red Card, the guilty player must leave both the field of play and the playing area (Education Gym).
2. The offending player’s team must play with 4 players for a maximum of 2 minutes or until a goal is scored by the opposition, whichever occurs first.
3. All Red Cards will result in a player or team being brought forward to the Suspensions and Appeals Committee and may result in player suspension or team ejection from the league.
4. A Red Card may be shown by the referee if a player or goalkeeper:
   • Commits serious foul play
   • Conducts themselves violently
   • Spits on an opponent
   • Denies an obvious goal scoring opportunity by handling the ball (excepting the goalkeeper)
   • Receives a second yellow card
   • Uses offensive, insulting or abusive language or gestures
   • Denies an obvious goal scoring opportunity by committing a foul punishable by a free kick or penalty kick

Accumulated Fouls

1. For first 5 accumulated fouls, play is restarted as a regular free kick.
   • A goal may be scored directly
   • Team opposing the kicking player may form a wall 5m from the ball
2. Starting with the 6th accumulated foul:
   • No wall may be formed
   • A goal may be scored directly
   • The kicker must be identified
   • The goalkeeper must remain in the penalty area
   • All players not involved with the kick must remain behind a line parallel with the goal line and level with the ball
   • The ball must be kicked with the intention of scoring a goal
   • The kick is taken from 15m from the goal line