The requirements to become an assignor are:

• • Must be 18+ years old

  • Must register and complete the New Assignor clinic

  • Must have been a certified USSF referee

To remain an assignor, annually you:

• • Must register and complete the Recert-Assignor clinic

• • I will maintain the utmost respect for referees and other officials of the game and I will conduct myself honorably at all times.

  • I will make assignments based on what is good for the game and what is good for the referee.

  • As a member of the United States Soccer Federation, my actions will reflect credit upon that organization.

  • I will contribute to the continuous development of referees in the National Program for Referee Development.

  • I will conduct myself ethically and professionally in the assignment process.

  • I will respect the rights and dignity of all the referees, and I will not criticize them unless it is in private, constructive, and for their benefit.

  • I will offer equal opportunity to all qualified referees, and I will not discriminate against or take undue advantage of any individual or group on the basis of age, race, color, religion, sex, national origin, or disability.

  • I will cooperate fully in the timely resolution of any grievance, hearing, or complaint.

  • I consider it a privilege to be part of the United States Soccer Federation and my actions will reflect credit upon that organization or its affiliates.

  • I will safeguard USSF confidentiality of the Referee List.

  • I will give priority to USSF affiliated matches when assigning games.

  • The use of USSF affiliated game assignments shall not be used to persuade USSF registered referees to accept game assignments for nonmembers of U.S. Soccer.

Washington State Referee Committee

Policy Relating to the Use of USSF Registered Assignors

The Washington State Referee Committee (SRC) is responsible for ensuring that all persons assigning officials to all USSF affiliated games in Washington State are USSF registered assignors, assigning only currently registered USSF referees in good standing with the SRC.

According to the USSF Policy Manual, Policy 531-8, Section 7:

No one shall assign or appoint a referee, assistant referee or fourth official in any match under the sanction or jurisdiction (direct or indirect) of the Federation who is not registered as a Referee Assignor with the Federation for the current year. A state association, league or tournament may appoint an unregistered assignor in an emergency.

Article I Assignor Registration

All USSF affiliated games in Washington State will have officials assigned only by a currently registered USSF assignor in good standing with the SRC.

Article II Notification of Change of Assignor

If a club, league, tournament or association makes an assignor change, notification of the change will provided to the State Assignor Coordinator (SAC) within 14 days of the change. The SAC will update the State Referee Committee website accordingly.

Article III Emergency Appointments

In the event of an emergency that causes a club, league, tournament or association to not have a currently registered assignor, the club, league, tournament or association may apply in writing in a timely manner for permission to use a non-registered assignor. The application and description of the need including the reason for the opening will be provided to the SAC and will be considered on a case-by-case basis. An emergency appointment will only be in effect for the current season and will not carry over to the following season.

Whether or not the emergency appointment is approved, the club, league, tournament or association will continue efforts to obtain a registered assignor and/or the person granted the appointment will register for the next scheduled assignor certification course, complete the course, and register as a USSF assignor.

Article IV Out of State Assignors

If a club, league, tournament or association borders a neighboring state, that club, league, tournament or association may use a USSF registered assignor from the bordering state. That out-of-state assignor may request to be added as a guest to the SRC www.wareferees.org website.

Article V Assignor Ethics

All assignors will adhere to the USSF Assignor Code of Ethics:

1. I will maintain the utmost respect for referees and other officials of the game and I will conduct myself honorably at all times.

2. I will make the assignments based on what is good for the game and what is good for the referee.

3. As a member of the United States Soccer Federation, my actions will reflect credit upon the organization.

4. I will contribute to the continuous development of referees in the National Referee Development Program.

5. I will conduct myself ethically and professionally in the assignment process.

6. I will respect the rights and dignity of all the referees and I will not criticize them unless it is in private, constructive, and for their benefit.

7. I will offer equal opportunity to all qualify referees and I will not discriminate against or take undue advantage of any individual or group on the basis of race,

8. color, religion, sex or national origin.

9. I will cooperate fully in the timely resolution of any grievance hearing or complaint.

10. I consider it a privilege to be a part of the United States Soccer Federation and my actions will reflect credit upon that organization or its affiliates.

11. I will safeguard USSF confidentiality of the Referee List.

12. I will give priority to USSF affiliated matches when assigning games.

13. The use of USSF affiliated game assignments shall not be used to persuade USSF registered referees to accept game assignments for nonmembers of U.S. Soccer.

Article VI Non-Compliance

Non-compliance with any of the stated policies for assignors will be reviewed on a case-by-case basis. Non-compliance might be considered Misconduct Off the Field. If judged so as the result of a formal hearing, this could lead to any of the following (similar to USSF’s Ask-Tell-Dismiss, neither Ask or Tell are required):

WASRC

• • •  Formal warning

    •  Formal Final warning

    •  Fines

    •  Suspension

    •  Decertification in WA up to Lifetime ban

USSF

•  Suspension

•  Decertification under USSF up to Lifetime ban

Article VII Assigning Unaffiliated Games / Leagues

General Statement concerning assigning unaffiliated games / leagues

As a U.S. Soccer (USSF) registered Assignor, there are ethical guidelines and expectations that you have agreed to and are expected follow. Please consider all the following information and opinion when you, as an independent contractor, make the decision to work as an assignor for unaffiliated games and leagues. It is possible that your actions may fall outside the ethical expectations of U.S. Soccer, as stated in Article V above, while working as an assignor for unaffiliated games and leagues. It is also possible that you are setting yourself up for legal actions filed against you.

Unaffiliated Games / Leagues

What is considered unaffiliated? Generally, this is most often adult soccer but can include youth games / leagues. These games / leagues are not in any way affiliated with one of the USSF recognized State Associations (Adult or Youth) or affiliated regionally or directly with any USSF recognized Associations. It is common that these are local leagues often operated for the profit of the host organization / local owners.

Independent Contractor

USSF recognizes that you are an independent contractor. However, as such there may be some ethical considerations. As an independent contractor to perhaps another organization, it is up to you to determine your priorities in servicing each organization while not violating your USSF ethical requirements.

Insurance Considerations - There is NO USSF Liability or Adult Soccer Secondary Medical Insurance on unaffiliated games / leagues.

USSF recognizes that, as independent contractors, all officials and assignors are free to work for any league or officiate matches as they see fit. They also assume that both the State Referee Committee (SRC) and the USSF assignors will clearly communicate to all USSF officials to ensure they have a 100% understanding that the liability insurance coverage they have from USSF does not follow them when working unaffiliated games/leagues. Without USSF liability insurance, officials are advised to seek out additional means of liability coverage to protect themselves while working unaffiliated games.

ETHICS

As a USSF registered assignor, you have agreed to follow the USSF Policy on Ethics. The following in particular apply if you choose to assign unaffiliated leagues/matches:

1. 1. I will safeguard USSF confidentiality of the Referee List.

   2. I will give priority to USSF affiliated matches when assigning games.

   3. The use of USSF affiliated game assignments shall not be used to persuade USSF registered referees to accept game assignments for nonmembers of U.S. Soccer.

Implications to USSF Assignors of unaffiliated games/leagues:

1. Based on the ethics you have agreed to listed above, expected behavior would be:

   • Never use the USSF Referee List (data) when assigning unaffiliated games. Officials are free to provide assignors their own personal data but use of the data obtained from USSF (via the SRC) is prohibited,

   • The State Referee Administrator (SRA) expects unaffiliated games to be assigned on a completely separate platform than USSF games. If this expectation is not followed and the platform is shared by other USSF assignors, all assignors using this shared platform risk losing their electronic access to USSF Referee List. The SRA has the authority from USSF (and obligation) to take such extreme actions,

   • When assigning both USSF and unaffiliated games, always fill all USSF assignments first, and

   • When assigning USSF games, never discriminate against a USSF referee who will not work unaffiliated games.

2. You should fully understand the following:

   • While assigning unaffiliated games neither you nor the officials you have assigned to those matches have USSF liability insurance,

   • The officials you assign to unaffiliated adult games have no USSF Adult Soccer provided secondary medical insurance,

   • The officials you assign to unaffiliated games may experience referee abuse or assault,

   • The officials you assign to unaffiliated games may experience referee misconduct (crew member?),

   • The unaffiliated league might not appropriately follow through on agreed player sanctions for misconduct,

   • No unaffiliated games can be used by the referee toward their “game count” for upgrade or maintenance, nor can any of these games be used for formal (USSF) assessments, and

   • The officials you assign to unaffiliated games may face sanctions from the SRC for frequently choosing to work unaffiliated games over USSF games. These sanctions could include the assignment of low, if any, priority to participate in WASRC sponsored advanced training, State events and travel.

Bottom Line: Assignors are prohibited from using USSF provided data for any purpose, including assigning, for unaffiliated games / leagues.

Bottom Line: Abuse or Assault of Officials, or Misconduct Sanctions happening in unaffiliated games / leagues will not be administered by USSF, the SRC nor either USSF recognized State Association.

Note, from statement included in item 2 above:

• • The officials may claim they did not know this. They may claim that you didn’t inform them or ensure they understood the risk and thus take legal action against you.

  • Should any of this happen, there is no State (Youth Soccer, Adult Soccer or SRC), Regional or National (USSF) governing body to assist you in bringing this to resolution.