LUBBOCK SOCCER ASSOCIATION

BY-LAWS

and

GENERAL RULES

September, 1987

REVISED: August, 2006

LUBBOCK SOCCER ASSOCIATION

BY-LAWS and GENERAL RULES  

Chapter 5: By-Laws of the Lubbock Soccer Association

Lubbock Soccer Association

General Rules

5. Chapter 5: Discipline, Protests, Grievances and Appeals

The Discipline and Appeals Committee of the Lubbock Soccer Association is the judicial branch of the Association. Appeals about actions and/or decisions of Association officers, coaches, and referees will be filed with the Chairman of the Appeals and Discipline Committee unless an alternate review process is specified in some part of the By-Laws or the Rules & Regulations of the Lubbock Soccer Association. Protests and grievances will also be filed with the Chairman. The referees of Lubbock Soccer Association sanctioned games will file a North Texas State Soccer Association Referee’s Report of Misconduct with the Chairman for ALL incidents in which the referee issues a CAUTION, SEND OFF, or suspends a game or alleges misconduct by any person (this includes cases of alleged referee abuse - the referee must file a copy of the Report with the Chairman even though the incident will be adjudicated by the North Texas State Soccer Association).

    NOTE: All comments in this chapter regarding the actions of the North Texas State
               Soccer Association, its officers, and its committees are explanatory in nature and
               do not bind the State Association in any way. The actions of the State Association,
               its officers and committees are governed by the North Texas State Soccer
               Association Administrative Handbook. The explanations included herein are
               intended to inform the members of the Lubbock Soccer Association of their rights
               and obligations due to the Lubbock Soccer Association’s membership in the North
               Texas State Soccer Association. In case of conflicts between this chapter and the
               North Texas State Soccer Association Administrative Handbook, the NTSSA
               Handbook will be the definitive document.

5.7. APPELLATE PROCEDURES

    5.7.1. All complaints, protests, grievances, misconduct reports, and appeals of the
             decisions or actions of any official of the Lubbock Soccer Association will,
             unless directed elsewhere in the Association By-Laws and General Rules, be
             submitted, in writing, to the Chairman of the Discipline and Appeals Committee
             within forty-eight (48) hours of the matter concerned. The Committee may, at its
             discretion when requested in writing to do so, waive the time limit for filing
             matters before it, but in no case will grant an extension of more than ten (10)
             days. Many matters submitted to the Committee must be accompanied by a
             cash bond (see the later paragraph about filing fees).

                Definition of a grievance: a wrong, real or fancied, considered as grounds for
                complaint against an unjust act.

    5.7.2. The Discipline and Appeals Committee will act on all matters submitted to it
              within five (5) days after receipt of the complaint or report by the Chairman. All
              involved parties (referees, linesmen, coaches, players, parents) will be notified
              of the hearing date and time and are expected to be present. However, if any
              person is not present, the Committee may proceed with the hearing. The
              Committee will hear all sides of the incident according to the Committee’s
              established procedures, then will request that all involved parties leave so that
              the Committee may deliberate on the matter (no decision will be made by the
              Committee while the involved parties are present). The Chairman of the
              Committee will make the results of the Committee’s deliberations known to all
              involved parties as soon as possible.

    5.7.3. The Board of Directors of the Lubbock Soccer Association may bring any matter
             directly before the Board as a judicial body when the Board feels it is necessary
             in order to render a decision and to speed the normal process for matters of
             utmost importance.

    5.7.4. All decisions of the Discipline and Appeals Committee, except those which are
             appealed directly to the North Texas State Soccer Association Appeals and
             Disciplinary Committee, may be appealed to the Board of Directors of the
             Lubbock Soccer Association. Those decisions which are appealed directly to
             the State Appeals and Disciplinary Committee are enumerated in other sections
             of the General Rules. All decisions by the LSA Discipline and Appeals
             Committee which are appealed to the Board of Directors, and most of those
             which are appealed to the State, require the posting of a cash bond.

    5.7.5. All decisions of the Board of Directors of the Lubbock Soccer Association may
             be appealed to the Appeals and Disciplinary Committee of the North Texas
             State Soccer Association. Such appeals may require the posting of a cash
             bond.

    5.7.6. All decisions of the Appeals and Disciplinary Committee of the North Texas
             State Soccer Association may be appealed to the State Executive Committee.

    5.7.7. All appeals at all levels are subject to a complete rehearing of the initial incident
             or action. No appeal level will lessen the punishment assessed by a lower level
             in any case in which the lower level decision is upheld. Higher appeal levels
             may, at their discretion, increase the punishment assessed by a lower judicial
             body.

    5.7.8. All those persons under the jurisdiction of the Lubbock Soccer Association are
             reminded that they must exhaust all appellate procedures of the Association
             before they may appeal to the North Texas State Soccer Association or other
             governing bodies.

    5.7.9. The Lubbock Soccer Association Discipline and Appeals Committee will set the
             rules of hearings and may restrict the number of witnesses, and the time allotted
             to each, so long as fair hearings are held. The Committee may also determine
             whether it wants to allow closed or open hearings.

    5.7.10. The Lubbock Soccer Association and its Committees will refuse to hear any
               appeal when any person is threatening a lawsuit. Such appeals will
               immediately be passed to the North Texas State Soccer Association. This is a
               sport to which our local officers and officials are giving freely of their time, and
               none of them need to take the trouble and expense to appear in court.

    5.7.11. The Lubbock Soccer Association and its Committees and the North Texas
               State Soccer Association and its Committees will refuse to allow the use of
               recording devices, court reporters, and the presence of attorneys acting in their
               professional capacity at all hearings.

    5.7.12. Should any aggrieved party resort to the courts without exhausting all avenues
               of appeal including through to the United States Soccer Federation, the
               Lubbock Soccer Association may, at its discretion, suspend such person or
               refuse to accept further registration in soccer activities within its jurisdiction.

    5.7.13. Any appeal, to any reviewing body in either the Lubbock Soccer Association or
               the North Texas State Soccer Association, will be:

                5.7.13.1. in writing.

                5.7.13.2. made to the appropriate person within five (5) days of receipt of
                              written notice of the lower level authority’s decision(s). The
                              appropriate person is the:

                                Chairman for the LSA Discipline and Appeals Committee.
                                President for the LSA Board of Directors.
                                Chairman for the NTSSA Appeals and Disciplinary Committee.
                                General Manager for the NTSSA Executive Committee.

                5.7.13.3. accompanied by the specified fees in cash or certified check.

    5.7.14. Filing fees for appeals will not be waived. Filing fees for protests, grievances,
               and complaints may be waived by the LSA Discipline and Appeals Committee
               for good reason. Filing fees will be refunded to the appealing party only if the
               previous decision is overruled. Fees will be:

                5.7.14.1. $30 for all matters at either the LSA Discipline and Appeals
                             Committee or Board of Directors.

                5.7.14.2. $100 for all appeals to the North Texas State Soccer Association.