In conjunction with, and reference given to, the rulings laid down in the Solihull and District Oakbourne Football League Handbook and the F. A. and County rules:

In the event of the non-appearance of an appointed referee, appointed senior assistant referee shall take charge and then a substitute assistant referee, should there not be a fourth official, must be appointed by the competing sides.

In any cases where there are no officially appointed assistants, and no qualified referee is present, the clubs shall agree upon a referee for the game. Any referee thus agreed upon shall, for that game, have the full powers, status and authority of any registered appointed referee and shall be paid in the same manner as for an officially appointed referee. Further, referee assessment cards should be sent in to the Solihull & District Oakbourne League regardless of who officiates in a match.

Member teams should note that if a “qualified referee” is present, he must be invited to officiate before another arrangement is considered.

If teams can not agree upon a referee, the Home club must supply a referee for the game. This decision can not be challenged by the Away club, but this does not remove the rights to appeal.

Referees placed in charge of a match must complete the whole game, unless they are injured. Under no circumstances, other than for reason of injury, should any refereeing duties be shared during any match.

If the officially appointed referee arrives after kick-off he may, and should, take over refereeing duties at the earliest opportunity. In this instance, the officially appointed referee will still have an entitlement to his full fees. If teams should disagree with any such fee entitlement, they must pay the fee requested and then appeal to the League in the normal manner.

Failure to comply with this League Directive carries a fine not exceeding £20.00 and the matter will be further considered by the League Council who have the rights to take further action as they feel fit.