IF A TEAM WINS A GAME WITH A GOAL DIFFERENTIAL
EQUAL TO OR GREATER THAN SIX (6) (EX. 6-0, 7-1, 9-2) THEN THIS POLICY
WILL BE TRIGGERED.
All penalties applied to teams because of a perceived lack of sportsmanship are discretionary. The Division Coordinator, together with their support team will perform due diligence before making a decision regarding the application of any penalty.
A Sportsmanship Penalty may include deducting one or more points from a team. There is a high potential of this penalty adversely affecting a team's place in the standings and subsequent qualification for playoffs.
In a lopsided game, where one team is notably stronger than the other, the potential for a substantial goal difference is high.
There is an expectation that the coach of the dominant team will take steps to limit the dominance.
The threshold we set to determine if a team may have displayed poor sportsmanship is a 6 (six) or more goal differential. For example: these scores are acceptable... 5-0, 7-2, 10-5. The following scores are not OK: 6-0, 7-1, 10-4.
When a game ends with a goal differential equal to or greater than six, the following actions will take place prior to any decision being made regarding the implementation of a penalty on the team:
- The winning coach will be asked to explain any special circumstances of the game that made it difficult to limit the scoring.
- The opposing coach and referee crews may also be contacted for feedback if necessary.
- The winning coach will be asked to explain the steps taken to try and limit the scoring.
- The winning coach's prior track record will be considered. There will be more leniency applied to first-time offenders versus those who have a history of allowing, or even encouraging, dominance.
- The winning coach will be given advice on further measures that can help limit the scoring when they play lopsided games in the future.
Any decision to penalize a team will only be applied after careful consideration of the facts exposed by the above due diligence.
The ultimate goal of this policy is to ensure the following:
- Losing teams are not humiliated
- Dominant teams play with good sportsmanship
- Players are not told to 'stop scoring'. They came to the field to play good soccer and we should let them do that.
- Equip the coach with further tools to improve and develop their ability to handle such situations in the future.
This policy is not in place to punish coaches who's team wins by six or more goals. It is a policy to permit the sanctioning of coaches who display poor sportsmanship. The goal differential is merely a reference point used to trigger a further look into the circumstances of a game.