These Updates are either weekly or fortnightly throughout the season. If you miss one, past issues can be found on YELonline.com under the news section.
This Update covers
Player Registrations – dual registration
End of free COVID-19 cancellation
Kick Off times – 10 day rule
ID cards
Referees
FA Full-Time & YEL Scoreline access
Player Registrations
To be honest with you all, just like many of you I am fed up with the mountain of issues being caused by errors, glitches, bugs, ill thought through procedures, lack of guidance etc in this ‘bullet proof’ system that was promised to us all earlier in the year. That said, we have got what we have got and we have to try and work through it.
Can all club secretaries please continue to register all of your players – some teams are concerningly short at this very late stage – to ensure we have accurate/complete data as soon as possible.
Maximum squad size – Reminder to everyone – for U9s to U14s there is a maximum permissible squad size of double the playing format – 7v7 = 14 players; 9v9 = 18 players; 11v11 = 22 players. Any teams exceeding the maximum size should email the office with the players they wish to deregister from the team within the next five days otherwise we will consider either suspending fixtures until compliant and/or fine you for failing to follow a management instruction.
Dual registered players – we have noticed that a number of teams have registered players for more than one team. Can we please remind you that teams are placed in ability based divisions and it is unfair for a Division 1 player to play in a Division 6 team for example. We would request that you follow the spirit of the competition and ask for players to be deregistered from teams that are lower than their normal ability based team. If you need to play a player in more than one game in a day, please be aware of the maximum playing time permissible under FA rules (See YEL rules). The FA impose very heavy sanctions for teams/clubs who breach this welfare/safeguarding issue. Be warned!
End of free COVID-19 cancellations
Please note that following the revised guidance from The FA/Public Health England around children and bubbles, we will no longer allow matches to be cancelled due to COVID-19. You will be need to use your one ‘free’ cancellation (no points deduction/match awarded). The YEL Discipline team will consider whether a fine is applicable on a case by case basis however the rest of the cancellation matrix will be applied as normal.
Kick Off times
I have noticed some late changes in kick off times. Whilst this is permissible, if it is inside TEN DAYS of the game, teams must get the agreement of the opposition team, any appointed referee and the league (YEL Regulations). WE appreciate there are many new mangers this year so for the first week, no fines will be raised for failing to comply with this rule however if any team refuses to accept the change in the KO time and it is inside the ten days, the KO will revert to the default KO time on the website and the home team will have to make arrangements to play at this time either on the allocated pitch or find another one. It is up to home clubs/teams to sort out KO times a minimum of ten days before the match in order to have control over the process. Please ensure to get into the habit of doing this.
ID Checks
Due to the ongoing issues with Whole Game System and player registrations, we will not be completing ID checks for the first two weekends of the season. Please be reminded that they will be mandatory from 18th/19th September. Any team found to not be completing the ID check for a YEL organised match – friendly, league or cup game – will be fined. Do not think agreeing with the opposition ‘not to bother’ is an acceptable excuse – It isn’t! Referees will be asked to keep a check (not oversee) on ID checks and we have a team of Respect Field Officers (RFOs) who will be doing spot checks to ensure this is being followed. If ID checks are not carried out, the game should NOT take place. The offending team will be reported to the YEL Discipline team and the appropriate action will be taken which could include the offence being treated as a cancellation on the day and the match being awarded to the opposition. Teams should always have a downloaded paper copy of their player ID sheet. Use of phones/devices to show the official downloaded squad list is permitted – be aware mobile coverage is not always brilliant so have a back up paper copy.
Referees
Reminder again, There is an acute shortage of referees across the country. Until things improve and more courses complete, there will be a strong likelihood that your game will NOT have a referee. Be prepared – always have a back up plan – parent or club official lined up to step in at short notice. In the short term, we may only be able to cover 30% of our matches. Can I please ask that you notify all of your teams of this situation and make sure they are prepared. We will do our best with the limited resources available. If you secure the services of a local qualified referee who is happy to do your games on a regular basis, please email the details to Sarah – YEL Referees appointments – referees@yelonline.com – and give her the details of when they are available and which of your games they are able to cover at least 7 days prior to the game. This will then help her allocate the scarce resources to those less fortunate. We will not accept teams saying they have their own referee, once a YEL referee is appointed. You must use the appointed ref.
FA Full-Time and YEL Scoreline access
We have sent an email out to all team contacts/managers requesting them to log into both FA Full-Time – https://fulltime-admin.thefa.com and YEL Scoreline https://portal.yelscoreline.com/user/login. Full-Time uses the same username (email address) and password as their access to Whole Game System. Scoreline is their registered email address and the password they have set up. It is important they access bot systems so that we know there are no problems. Any of your managers having issues should get in touch with the YEL Office ASAP – yel@live.co.uk – and let us know so it can be resolved. IT IS ESSENTIAL THEY CAN ACCESS THESE TWO SYSTEMS – Please share this message with them via club communications, managers meetings etc to remind them to do it.
Please check that team admins are currently receiving the automated game information from Full-Time. If they are not, please make contact with the YEL Office and we will sort it out. yel@live.co.uk
Rob Harwood CEO
YEL OFFICE