While each official is expected to keep the assignments he or she accepts, there are certain occasions where a referee should be released from a lower-level assignment to officiate in a higher-level competition.
To this end, the following games are listed by priority for assignment:
- International and senior National team games assigned by U.S. Soccer
- Games assigned by the Professional Referee Organization (PRO)
- Youth National team games assigned by U.S. Soccer
- Competitions (regional and national) assigned directly by U.S. Soccer’s affiliated members. Includes but is not limited to:
- USASA
- US Youth Soccer
- US Club Soccer
- League games assigned directly by U.S. Soccer
- Competitions (state level) assigned directly by U.S. Soccer’s affiliated members. Includes but is not limited to:
- State Adult Associations
- State Youth Associations
Please note that this police does not apply:
- Within 72 hours of the scheduled game time unless an emergency exists
- When a substantial financial commitment has been made for the assignment (e.g. nonrefundable airline ticket)
Responsibilities on officials:
- Keep the lines of communication open about upcoming national and international appointments as far in advance as possible
- Communicate the receipt of a higher priority appointment to their assignor as soon as possible
- Report an assignor that refuses to release the official from a higher priority assignment to their State Referee Administrator (sra@pawest-soccer.org) and the U.S. Soccer Referee Department (referee@ussoccer.org)
Responsibility of Assignors:
- Identify the highly experienced officials on your assignment roster who are likely to be assigned to a higher priority assignment and always be prepared to fill these slots on an emergency basis
- Cooperate with officials and other assignors on those rare occasions when the game priority policy is invoked
- Report any concerns regarding officials to the State Referee Administrator (sra@pawest-soccer.org)