The Massachusetts Youth Soccer Association announced a host of new rules modifications over the weekend in order to comply with the latest guidance for youth and adult amateur sports that was released by the Massachusetts Executive Office of Energy and Environmental Affairs (EEA) on Friday. These rules modifications will affect youth soccer players at all levels, from divisions 11U all the way to 19U.
Suspended activities to meet necessary modification guidelines established by the EEA include:
— Heading – All intentional heading of a soccer ball is suspended for all ages. Any intentional heading will be treated as a violation of IFAB Law 12, Playing in a Dangerous Manner, Indirect Free Kick restart.
— Shoulder to Shoulder contact is suspended and or any other intentional physical contact is to be considered a violation of Law 12, Playing in a Dangerous Manner, Indirect Free Kick restart or other applicable foul or misconduct based on the referee’s decision.
— Slide Tackling whenever within six feet of another player is suspended and is to be considered a violation of Law 12, Playing in a Dangerous Manner, Indirect Free Kick restart or other applicable foul or misconduct based on the referee’s decision.
— Throw-Ins as defined by IFAB Law 15 are suspended and to be replaced by a Kick-in. The modifications for the procedure for a Kick-in is:
— The player taking the Kick-in must be facing the field of play and need not keep both feet on the ground during the Kick-in.
— Must put part of the ball on the touchline or on the ground outside the touchline.
— The ball may not be kicked directly into the opponent’s penalty area.
— All opponents must stand at least 10 yards (eight yards for small sided) from the point on the touchline where the Kick-in is to be taken.
— IFAB Law 15 Offences and Sanctions for Throw-ins apply to Kick-ins.
— Corner Kicks as defined by IFAB Law 17 are suspended and to be replaced by a Corner Kick-in. The modifications for the procedure for a Corner Kick-in are:
— The ball may not be kicked directly into the opponent’s penalty area.
— Opponents must remain at least 10 yds (eight yards for small sided) from the corner arc until the ball is in play.
— IFAB Law 17 Offences and Sanctions for Corner Kicks apply to Corner Kick-ins.
— For all restarts, all players must comply with the six-foot distancing from both teammates and opponents. Opponents must remain at 10 yds (eight yards for small sided) from the ball prior to the kick. The use of a traditional defensive Wall is currently suspended.
— The use of a Dropped Ball as a restart is suspended. To replace this procedure, an Indirect Free Kick will be awarded to the team whom the referee deemed to be in possession when the referee stops play.
While Mass Youth Soccer is not in charge of high school sports — that’s the MIAA’s domain — these guidelines could look similar if soccer is to be a viable sport to play this fall. It is expected that the various individual MIAA sports committees will be responsible for putting in place safety modifications to be able to play.
The MIAA COVID-19 Task Force is expected to meet with Department of Elementary and Secondary Education (DESE) Commissioner Jeffrey C. Reilly Monday afternoon to present its proposal for the 2020-2021 athletic season. The DESE will then decide to either accept the Task Force’s proposal or release its own set of guidelines. The MIAA Board of Directors has already voted to accept whatever the DESE decision is.