TORSO Referees

TORSO is continuously working to bring the highest quality officiating to their teams. Our officials have many years of experience in competitive and select club soccer as well as high school and adult competitions. To assure a quality playing experience for our members, each TORSO match is assigned a 3-person referee team with only experienced referees assigned as referee.

Guidelines for Day of Match

Detailed game day procedures may be found on our Match Procedures page.

Call the rainout lines before you leave.
Check-in: Teams owe you completed rosters 15 minutes before kickoff. You must be there at least 15 minutes early and start checking in players at that time. AR's have full authority and responsibility to check in players. AR's need no other permission to take control of the check-in process and are expected to do so if they have not been already asked to do so by the Referee.
Identification: Every player must be on the roster and have a TORSO Player Pass (card) or a government-issued photo identification that matches the roster. There are no exceptions. The photo must be of the person that is standing in front of you. If it is not, that individual cannot play.
Start Time: Remind teams of their obligation to start on time. A team needs seven players, including one woman, to start the match. If a team has seven players and check-in is done, do not wait for additional players. Start the match.
Delayed Starts: If check-in delays the start of the match, tell the teams that you are shortening the halves by equal amounts. Never allow more that 15 minutes to start the match. A forfeit (for which you will be paid) is required at exactly 15 minutes if teams fail to have seven (7) players on the pitch.
Bookings: Do not negotiate bookings. Bookings are the only way we have of tracking the behavior of our players.
Dissent: Referees, do not allow dissent to be directed at the AR's. AR's: Do not tolerate dissent. Advise the referee of 'ungentlemanly' behavior.
Fouls: A foul is a foul. But, men must use skill, not strength, when challenging women.
Send in your match reports early and get paid early. No one gets paid until the last report is in.

USSF Affiliation

TORSO Soccer League is affiliated with USSF. TORSO referees abide by the current year's Laws of the Game, Guide to Procedures, and associated memoranda as published by USSF.

Assignors

TORSO uses certified USSF assignors to assign referees to all matches.

Referee Payment Rates

For 2009 - 2010, the referee pay structure is $50 per match for referees and $30 per match for assistant referees.

Match Procedures

Referees that work TORSO league matches are strongly encouraged to read and understand the match procedures section on this web site. These match procedures will ensure that all administrative requirements are handled efficiently both before and after the match.

Referee Certification

In order to be assigned to a TORSO matches, referees must be certified, possess, and wear the USSF referee badge for the current year. Per USSF rules, only referees with a Grade 8 or lower may be a referee. Grade 9 referees may work only as assistant referees.

To become certified or to recertify, please consult the South Texas Soccer Referee web site at the STSR Web site.

Uniforms

Referees are expected to maintain a professional appearance by wearing USSF approved uniforms including:

Shirt: Either front button down or v-neck collared vertical striped referee shirts in any of the USSF approved colors - gold, black, red, blue, green. Referees are encouraged to use gold as the default color and travel with at least one additional shirt color.
Shorts: Black referee shorts.
Socks: Black 3-striped or USSF logoed referee socks.
Shoes: Black or dark colored shoes.

Referee Development

TORSO prides itself in its dedication to developing youth referees by assigning them to crews with experienced referees. Developing referees work closely with the referee to make sure that they have a positive experience while making fair and accurate calls.