This Update has FOUR important messages this week which we would ask you to please read.
YEL Office email address is changing!
Fines for incomplete, wrongly/not completed match returns are being issued
YEL Respect on Scoreline – How it works
When is a referee not a referee?
YEL Office email address is changing!
office@yelonline.com will be closing down over the next few weeks. It has been replaced with a brand new YEL Office email address:
Please make sure you update your contact information to this new address as it is now being used.
The old office@yelonline.com will continue to be monitored in the short term but you will get an automated response asking you to use the new address. There is no need to resend the email as it will be forwarded to the new one in the short term.
The switch to office@yelonline.com brings the office email address in line with the growing suite of @yelonline.com email accounts designed to ensure that your email gets to the right person as quickly as possible. Please use the relevant email below to speed up the process:
office@yelonline.com – all general administrative enquiries, fixture queries, changes to ko times, questions on rules
finance@yelonline.com – any player registration queries, match return fines/queries, queries relating to invoices
referees@yelonline.com – any questions regarding referee appointments, how to register a referee/as a referee
Fines for incomplete, wrongly/not completed match returns are being issued
Firstly, thank you to all teams who have been completing their match returns on time and successfully.
If you are one of the 6% who has received notifications from us about incomplete or incorrectly/not completed match returns, or you are still unsure if you are completing them correctly, read the step by step ‘Basic guide to running a YEL Team’ found in the ‘Useful information for coaches’ section on YELonline.com
https://yelonline.com/managers-and-coaches-useful-information/
DO make sure you complete the match return by logging into Full-Time
DO make sure you complete all sections
DO make sure you ONLY list the players who started in the ‘started’ section; list the players who started as subs and came on, in the ‘subs used section’ (There should be no entries in the ‘subs unused’ section as all children who attend games as subs (up to the max number permitted) should play at some stage)
DO ensure the return is completed within 24 hours of the advertised kick off time (League Regulation 3C)
DO NOT use MatchDay app to complete your match return. Its poor reliability is well known and has been widely advertised by the YEL. We’ll not accept this as a valid reason for an incomplete match return.
YEL Respect on Scoreline – how it works
We’ve had a few questions around why ‘access is denied’ comes up when Club Officials are trying to access a Respect case on Scoreline.
The Scoreline Respect system is set up so clubs can see on their club dashboard two sections for Respect – ‘Reporting teams’ where they have raised a respect case and ‘Reported teams’ where another club has raised a respect case against one of their teams.
Reporting team
When a club clicks on the case, club officials can see the case information that they have reported/added to the system when they have raised it. They do not see the response from the team they have reported or any notes that the YEL Respect team make. They may be asked further questions by the YEL Respect team based on the response from the team they have reported. They are updated when the case has been investigated by the league or the CFA, and an outcome is sent to them.
Reported team
The reported club’s officials do not have access to the case raised against them. This section is for information only that an issue has been raised against one of their teams. The club secretary and Club Welfare Officer will be emailed by the League Welfare Officer/Respect team alerting them to a report against one of their teams. They will be asked to contact the manager on the day for their general observations around the game and particular incidents may be referenced in order that they can provide their version of the events. Follow up questions from the league/County FA may be asked based on the information provided. It is for the league/County FA to take an objective and independent view.
Scoreline is designed like this so that the matter doesn’t escalate into a slanging match between the teams, coaches, parents, referees etc. Again, once the investigations by the league are complete (often running alongside a County FA investigation), the league will make a decision, taking into account – but not reliant upon – the result of any CFA investigation, should it have been escalated to them. This could involve a change in the Respect traffic light status for team/s and also additional recommendations from the league or sanctions from the County FA.
When is a referee not a referee?
There has been an increase in unqualified people purporting to be referees offering their services via social media. You should ask yourself – if they are genuine referees, why are they not registering with the league? Are they registered with the County FA? Have they been banned/removed from the referees list?
On the back of this, we ’ve received a couple of queries from our YEL referees where they have been asked to 1. provide ID and FAN to ensure they are a qualified referee and 2. Their bank details so they can be paid by BACS.
1. This is really good practice if you have found your own ‘referee’ off the internet or a ‘friend of a friend’. Checking their qualifications will ensure that they are genuine referees with the correct, up to date certification and registered. Rest assured, this is absolutely NOT necessary for a YEL appointed referee. ALL referees appointed by the YEL via Full-Time are qualified with the correct, in date certificates and will not be appointed to YEL games unless they have provided their registration number which they can only get as County FA signed up, qualified match officials.
2. Whilst bank transfer is an efficient and easy way for clubs to pay referees, this should only be done with the agreement of the referee. They are within their rights to refuse to provide their details and ask for payment in cash on the day. If paying by BACS, good practice would be to ensure the payment is in the referee’s account just prior to the start of the game as there have been a number of instances where referees have had to chase clubs for payment which is not right.
Cashless payments are probably the way forward, but you must always respect the wishes of your referee. Ask them if they are OK with it – Don’t just tell them that’s the way it is!
Contacting the YEL
If you email the YEL OFFICE – office@yelonline.com – please ensure you state the team name, age group and playing day so we can quickly deal with the enquiry
If you have any issues or on the day queries relating to your game only, you can contact the YEL Game Day Hotline number for advice.
Available between 9.30am and 12.30pm on Sat/Sun
ONLY AVAILABLE FOR ON THE DAY MATCH RELATED ENQUIRIES – no other issues will be discussed.
Rob Harwood CEO
YEL OFFICE