A.  Sportsmanship Review Committee (SRC)

As needed, a Sportsmanship Review Committee will be appointed by the Second Vice President to form a disinterested panel of at least three BAYS board members. At least one of the members must be a currently certified MSRC Referee.

When the SRC is formed to hear an issue, its Chairman will set a time and date for the matter/issue to be reviewed and will request those involved to be present. After an open discussion of the matter with all interested parties present given an opportunity to be heard, the committee will meet privately to reach a determination. The committee will inform the parties once a decision has been reached.

Decisions of the SRC take effect immediately upon notification of the parties involved. Sportsmanship Review Committee decisions may be appealed to the BAYS Board of Directors. Such appeals may be considered at a regular board meeting, or at a special board meeting if called by the President or at the request of three BAYS Directors. The President may delay the imposition of penalties until a board meeting has been held to consider the appeal. Please refer to Match Rule 13 Appeals Procedures and Fees for the BAYS appeals process.

B.  Referee Abuse Prevention (RAP) Committee

Each season, the 2nd Vice President will appoint a committee of BAYS Board members to review and act upon reported game violations toward match officials by Coaches, Spectators, and Players. RAP Committee members must recuse themselves from  resolving violations involving their own club. For each reported RAP violation, at least three members of the RAP Committee will form a RAP Review Committee, as needed. RAP Review Committee members will work with club officials from both teams to try to determine what occurred and confirm the identity of who was involved within 48 hours of receiving the violation notice. Depending on the findings, a sanction advisory will be issued to the violator based on the 531-9 Penalty Matrix, or in the instance of a first offense only, the RAP Review Committee may recommend that an official warning be issued instead. The sanctioned person has 48 hours from receiving the sanction advisory to request a reconsideration (which can be either a review of additional documentation submitted or a hearing). Depending on the length of the sanction, the reconsideration will be handled by BAYS or by Mass Youth Soccer. Reconsideration reviews must be held within a timely manner. All violations, sanctions, and official warnings are tracked by BAYS and Mass Youth Soccer and will be considered should a violator reoffend. 

There is no fee to request a reconsideration. 

C: Respect Committee

Each season, the 2nd Vice President will appoint a committee of BAYS Board members to work with club officials of BAYS Members to review and act upon violations of BAYS Policies or Codes of Conduct. BAYS Respect Committee members and club officials of BAYS Members will use the Mass Youth Soccer Misconduct Matrices to guide their decisions. 

Violations are submitted via the BAYS Game Feedback Form but may also come in via other reporting tools. Respect Committee members shall not be assigned responsibility for resolving violations involving their own club. Committee members work with club officials from both teams to determine what occurred and who was involved. Depending on the severity of the incident, other factors, and the offender’s prior violation history, sanctions imposed by BAYS may include a suspension of up to four games. Clubs may elect to enforce longer suspensions at their discretion. For certain serious violations, jurisdiction and sanction determination is governed by the Misconduct Matrices (for example, law enforcement or SafeSport may take over.)

Reconsideration Process

A club official, who is not the violator,  may request reconsideration of a suspension to the 2nd Vice President.

If there is a belief that the sanction decision is based on a significant error (e.g., mistaken identity) or the incident summary is demonstrably incorrect (e.g., there is video evidence), a reconsideration may be requested.

1. Request Submission Deadline: Must be received within 48 hours of the sanction advisory being sent. 

2. Submission Requirements: 

   1. Submit evidence and/or testimony to support the reconsideration claim to [email protected].

Failure to submit a timely and complete request will result in the original decision being considered final.

At least three members of the BAYS Respect Committee will form a Respect Review Committee to review the reconsideration request and either affirm or modify the decision. The decision of the review committee is final within BAYS.