No chewing gum or spitting on the field or in the player boxes. Violation will result in a Yellow Card (2-minute penalty).
No Children are permitted inside the field space or player boxes during the time of play.
Mandatory Gear: Shin guards, shorts, and soccer socks are mandatory for all players. Shin guards must be fully covered by socks.
Prohibited Attire: Shorts with zippers, cargo shorts with buttons, or belts are not allowed. Running shorts are permitted.
Jerseys: All teams must wear the same colored jerseys (or shirts) with numbers.
Footwear: Outdoor soccer shoes with cleats are NOT ALLOWED. Only flat or turf indoor shoes are permitted.
Note: Outdoor cleats are only allowed during private facility rentals, not during Royal Arena league games.
Game Ball: All teams should bring a game ball for play.
Each game consists of two 23-minute (adult) or 23-minute (youth) halves with a running clock.
Halftime is 2-3 minutes long.
The clock may be stopped for injuries and other situations at the referee’s discretion.
The referee may stop the clock and/or award a free kick if a team is intentionally delaying the game.
Facility time requirements may necessitate shortened halves or a constantly running clock.
The kicker cannot touch the ball a second time until another player (from either team) has touched it. A violation results in a re-kick.
Kickoffs are direct kicks, and a goal may be scored directly from a kickoff.
Any player, coach, or manager ejected from a game must immediately leave the playing area and its immediate surrounding areas.
Any coach or manager receiving a combined total of 2 Red Cards during one session may be suspended for the remainder of that session.
Any violent action, or verbal or physical abuse towards a referee, coach, player, facility employee, or spectator can result in suspension from Royal Arena Sports.
A Yellow Card and an automatic two-minute penalty is given for dangerous/aggressive behavior, persistent infringement, or other serious offenses at the referee’s judgment.
During this penalty, the player’s team will play one player short.
A player other than the goalkeeper must serve the 2-minute penalty for the keeper if the keeper receives a Yellow Card.
A suspended player is authorized to return to the field if the opposite team scores a goal before the 2-minute suspension is over.
A second Yellow Card to the same player or a serious offense deemed so by the referee will result in a Red Card and a five-minute penalty.
The team will play one player short for 5 minutes.
If a goal is scored against the short-handed team during the penalty, the penalty will continue until the 5 minutes are completed (unlike a Yellow Card).
The player receiving the Red Card is out for the remainder of the game and is automatically suspended for the team’s next game. Extended suspensions are possible for fighting or severe misconduct.
No tolerance for fighting. Any player involved in a fight will be permanently suspended from Royal Arena Sports.
Any player under the influence of alcohol or any illegal substances is prohibited from playing.
Refer to the “Table of Penalties” at the end of this document for specific suspension lengths.
Fighting will absolutely not be tolerated. Any player who instigates or participates in fighting or aggressive behavior will be removed from the game without warning and will miss at least the remainder of that game and the next game.
Royal Arena management may enforce additional game suspensions based on referee reports and video footage.
A direct free kick may be awarded when a player commits or attempts to commit any of the following:
Kicks, trips, jumps at, charges, strikes, or pushes an opponent.
Tackles an opponent to gain possession, making contact with the opponent before the ball.
Holds or spits at an opponent.
Deliberately handles the ball (except the goalkeeper in their area).
Plays in a dangerous manner (including high kicks).
Impedes the progress of an opponent or prevents the goalkeeper from releasing the ball.
Slide tackling an opponent (See Section 11).
Checking along the wall or excessive use of hands on the wall.
Goalkeeper Infractions (Restart from top of the arc):
Takes more than six seconds while controlling the ball with hands.
Touches the ball again with hands after releasing it and it hasn’t touched another player or left the area.
Touches the ball with hands after it has been deliberately kicked to them by a teammate.
Enforcement: The penalized team must give the kicker at least 5 yards of clearance. If the infraction is within 5 steps of the goal, the penalized team may stand on the goal line. Players may not stand directly (within ~3 yards) in front of the ball to prevent a quick kick.
A team taking the kick must wait for the referee’s whistle if they request the 5 yards to be walked off.
Slide tackles by field players ARE NOT ALLOWED.
It is a foul if a field player touches a knee to the ground to block a shot/pass.
Repeated slide tackles may result in a Yellow or Red Card.
Goalkeepers may slide tackle only within their own penalty area.
There are no offsides.
All kicks (free kicks, corner kicks, goal kicks, kickoffs, kick-ins) are direct kicks.
Non-penal fouls that occur within the penalty area will result in a direct kick taken from the top of the box (not a penalty kick).
If a player commits a foul to take away an obvious scoring opportunity, the player should be cautioned (Yellow Card) or sent off (Red Card). The referee will determine if the foul was intentional.
End of Regular Season: Teams are seeded for a single elimination tournament.
Points: Win = 3 points, Tie = 1 point, Loss = 0 points.
Tie-Breaker Criteria (in order): 1. Goal differential, 2. Goals against, 3. Goals for, 4. Most winning games.
Forfeits: If a tie involves 3+ teams and one has a forfeit, that team loses the tiebreaker, and the tie-breaking criteria restarts for the remaining teams.
Regular Season: Tie games will stand.
Playoffs: Tie games will NOT have an overtime period. Games proceed directly to 5 shootouts per team.
Each team selects 5 eligible players for the first round.
Coed Leagues: Minimum 2 female shooters. The order of shooters must be: Men, Female, Men, Female, Men.
Teams alternate shooting. The team with the most goals after 5 shots wins.
If tied after 5 shooters, the shootout continues as sudden death. The guy/girl requirement is removed at this point.
Once all eligible players have shot, the teams may start over using players for a second time.
Start Time: Time starts running at the scheduled time.
Forfeit Declaration: Teams must show up no later than five minutes after the scheduled start time. If a team does not have the minimum number of players (see Section 21) to start the game 10 minutes after the scheduled time, the game will be called a forfeit (e.g., scheduled at 7:00 PM, forfeit called at 7:10 PM).
Score: Forfeits are recorded as a 4-0 loss.
Forfeit Penalties:
First Offense: Loss recorded, warning issued.
Second Offense: Loss recorded. Management reserves the right to remove the team from the league/playoffs with no refund.
Third Offense: Immediate removal from the league/playoffs with no refund.
Advance Notice: If a team knows they will forfeit, they are encouraged to call or email Royal Arena Management 48 hours before the game to notify the opponent. This does not prevent the loss from being recorded as a forfeit.
All protests must be made within 30 minutes of the game, in writing, to Royal Arena Management along with $50.00 (refundable if protest is upheld).
No protest will be allowed on the referee’s judgment calls.
Decisions by Royal Arena Management are final.
FIFA rules are used in the instance that a specific law is not listed here.
Any specific rules listed herein supersede the FIFA Laws of the Game.
Coed Leagues: Teams shall field 8 players, with a minimum of 2 females. A team may play with 1 female and 6 males. The minimum number of players needed to play an official game is 5 players (minimum 1 female).
Men’s/Other Leagues: The minimum number of players needed to play an official game is 5 players.
Teams may substitute “on the fly” at any point.
A player entering the game may not step onto the field until the player he/she is replacing is immediately in front of them and away from the ball.
Players must enter and exit from their own bench only.
Ball Hits Net: A kick-in is awarded to the opposing team. The ball must be kicked in at the point the ball left the field, no further than 1 yard from the boards.
Corner Kicks: Taken at the corner closest to where the ball left the field (designated restart dot).
Goal Kicks: May be taken from anywhere in a team’s own penalty area and must leave the area completely before touching another player.
Ball Hits Top Net: A direct free kick is awarded at the spot directly below where it hit, played from the side white line.
When the goalkeeper throws the ball, it may not travel forward completely over the defending team’s white line and the opponent’s white line in the air without touching another player, the ceiling, or the walls.
Violation: A direct free kick is awarded and placed on the side of the offending team’s white line.
Players may pass the ball backward over three lines without penalty. This rule does not apply to goalkeeper kicks from the ground.
Back-Pass Rule: Goalies may not pick up a pass directly kicked to them by a teammate from outside the white line. Deflections or unintentional passes may be picked up.
Six-Second Rule: Goalkeepers have a maximum of 6 seconds to release the ball from their hands.
Double-Touch Rule: Once the ball is released from the keeper’s hands, it must leave the penalty area and touch at least one other player before the keeper may pick it up again.
Restart for Infractions: Results in a direct kick at the top of the goalkeeper box. Defenders must be 5 yards away from the ball.
Slide Tackling: Goalies are the only players that may slide tackle (within their own penalty area only).
Prohibited Kicks: DROPKICKS and PUNTS are NOT ALLOWED. The ball must be on the ground (rolling or stopped) before the kick.
A penalty kick is awarded for any penal foul (e.g., charging, tripping, etc.) committed by a defender in their own penalty area. Note: Goalie hand infractions, 6-second violations, or other non-penal fouls are NOT included.
All players (besides the goalkeeper) must stand behind the ball and may not enter the penalty area until the ball is touched.
A missed penalty shot is a live ball.
An accumulative 6 fouls per team will result in a Shootout for the opposing team. Team fouls are cleared to zero after each Shootout.
There is no limit to the number of Shootouts per game.
Shootout Procedure:
Any player may take the Shootout.
Attacking players stand behind the Halfway Line and outside the center circle.
Defending players stand behind the Halfway Line and inside the center circle.
The ball is placed at the Restart Mark nearer the attacking Goal.
The Goalkeeper must have at least one foot on the Goal Line and cannot move off it until the Referee whistles the Shootout to begin.
The ball is “in play” upon the referee’s whistle.
The player only has 6 seconds to shoot the ball after the whistle. If the shot is taken after 6 seconds, the referee will stop play and award a free kick to the opponent.