A. Any player receiving a yellow card MAY be substituted for at the request of the coach of said player's team, or at the request of the center referee. It is not mandatory that a cautioned player be substituted automatically, but the center referee may request that a coach substitute that player at his discretion, to avoid a confrontational situation and maintain game control. If a cautioned player is asked to leave the field, and that player's team has 11 or fewer players, that team must "play short" until, at the discretion of the referee, the cautioned player is allowed to return to the field. This applies to ALL players, including the goalkeeper. Another player may not serve time for the goalkeeper, even in situations where a team is playing with fewer than 11 players.

B. The accumulation of four yellow cards by one player, during one season (including post-season tournament) for a single team, will result in that player being suspended for the next match played following the issuance of the fourth yellow card.  (Should the fourth caution be issued in that team's final game, that suspension does not carry over to the next season.)

C. Any player receiving a red card is ejected from the match, and may not be substituted. An automatic one-game suspension accompanies all red cards; the ejected player must sit out the next game of record (meaning, any match that is played to full time, played to at least half time, or a match that is declared a forfeit). There are NO exceptions to this rule. All ejections are reviewed by the GMSA Disciplinary Committee, and longer suspensions may be imposed based on the circumstances of the offense. (See sections 5F & 5G below). The Disciplinary Committee holds full authority in this regard.

Suspension of dual-registered players (those who play for both a men's team and a coed team): Any player playing for two teams, who receives a suspension issued by the Disciplinary Committee for any Class Three or lower offense, will serve the entirety of that suspension in the division in which the player committed said offense. That player will only be eligible to play for his other team during the length of the suspension, unless otherwise stipulated by the DC. The Disciplinary Committee reserves the right to suspend players from ALL league play (all teams, regardless of division), depending on the severity of the infraction.

Any sending off offense of Class Four or greater will result in a suspension from all league play for the duration of the suspension.

D. Any player receiving a second red card during the same season, on the SAME team, including tournament play of that season, will receive an AUTOMATIC minimum suspension of three games. All red card suspensions carry from season to season, if the duration of the suspension is not satisfied during the current season.

E. Red card offenses are divided into five (5) classes; these classifications are the recommended MINIMUM length of suspensions for each offense. GMSA reserves the right to alter suspension length based on the circumstances and severity of each offense. Misconduct is defined by class as listed below, as adapted from a previous iteration of Tennessee Soccer disciplinary sanction classifications:

1. Class One (Punishable by a minimum 1-game suspension)

a. use of profanity by word or sign

b. inciting disruptive behavior

c. making insulting or derogatory remarks or gestures 

2. Class Two (Punishable by a minimum 2-game suspension)

a. making threats

b. making threatening gestures

c. second Class I offense 

3. Class Three (Punishable by a minimum 3-game suspension)

a. physically striking a player or fighting with a player either before, during, or immediately after a game (includes spitting on another player)

b. second Class II offense or three or more Class I offenses 

4. Class Four (Punishable by an indefinite suspension as determined by GMSA)*

a. physically pushing or striking a coach/assistant coach, team manager, referee, spectator, association official, or league/state official

b. vandalism; willful or malicious destruction of property

c. second Class III offense or three or more Class II offenses 

5. Class Five - As defined in the USSF Administrative Rule Book  

F. The disciplinary process for GMSA is as follows:

Note: The GMSA Disciplinary Committee (The “DC”) consists of seven-to-ten anonymous representatives from across the league, and may include current players, coaches, or managers. Any members whose teams may be directly impacted by a DC decision (i.e., their team is in the same division as that of the player currently under review) will abstain from participation in that particular case.  

1. Referee reports received: The DC Chair receives the referee’s report on each match, usually within 48 hours of its completion. The DC Chair will screen each report to determine if there was an incident that needs to be reviewed by the full Disciplinary Committee. (Note: All straight red cards are automatically reviewed that involve Serious Foul Play, Violent Conduct, Spitting, or Foul/Abusive Language.) The DC Chair may request additional reports from the referee crew, which may take an additional 48 hours. 

2. Notifications are made: The DC Chair will notify the head coach/manager via the email address provided for that coach at the beginning of the season that the incident is being reviewed. The player in question will also be notified, if an email address is readily available. Whether or not a player’s email is available or valid, it is ultimately the coach’s responsibility to communicate with the player.

3. Statements are gathered: Any player receiving a red card may submit a statement regarding the incident in question to the DC Chair for consideration by the full disciplinary committee if a review is ultimately warranted. Statements may be submitted by the player, and/or the player’s coach or manager, and should be submitted in writing via email to the DC Chair, within 72 hours of the incident.  Statements from all other parties will only be accepted if directly solicited by the DC Chair. No other unsolicited statements will be accepted. Statements received after the 72 time period are not guaranteed to be considered.

4. Deliberation by DC Members: The members of the DC will review the information presented and deliberate the case, usually via email. They may request that the DC Chair solicit additional information from the referee, coaches, players, or other witnesses as needed.

5. Voting: The DC members shall then, individually and blindly, email their vote on the necessity and/or length of suspension to the DC chair, who tabulates the votes. The DC Chair does not actively vote, except where a tie-breaking vote is needed.

6. Notification of Verdict: The DC chair will notify the coach of the verdict. The DC chair will also notify the player, if a contact email is available. Regardless of whether or not the player is notified directly, the coach is responsible for relaying the information to the player, and is responsible for seeing that he sits out the correct number of games.

7. Right of Appeal: Appeals are not available for any suspension that falls within the minimum recommendations given via section E above – only the suspended games beyond the stated minimums can be contested. Suspended players have five (5) days from the date (and time) of the notification to appeal the decision. Passage of five days renders the player's right to appeal as null and void. Any appeal must be submitted in writing by the PLAYER, via email to the DC Chair and/or GMSA President.  An in-person hearing may or may not be called as circumstances necessitate as part of this process, as determined by the GMSA Executive Committee ("the EC"). 

NOTE: Appeals are administered by the GMSA President and deliberated by the EC to allow for an entirely independent review of the facts/statements, with the only overlap being that the EC is told the verdict of the DC. The EC review is independent of the DC ruling; the verdict rendered by the EC may confirm the original ruling, or may augment (either decrease or increase) the length of suspension. If an appeal is filed, the Executive Committee will review the case and will either confirm or amend the original decision, usually within five days of the submission of the appeal.  

8. Duration of process: The length of each case varies depending on the complexity of the circumstances, but will usually average approximately seven days from start to finish. Since red-carded players automatically sit out one game, the DC verdict is almost always rendered at least 2 days before the next match for which the player could (potentially) be eligible. If there are unusual circumstances related to a particular case (i.e., the review is taking longer than expected, or a team is playing more than one game before a decision can be rendered), the DC Chair will notify the coach as to whether or not that player should resume participation or not. If a player is under review for an offense involving excessive violence toward another player, referee, or official, the DC Chair will likely instruct the coach to withhold that player from competition indefinitely until a decision is reached. 

G. The DC has the right to determine and impose suspensions for the player in question on the team in question, and for any other team the player may play for in GMSA – presently or in the future. Suspensions or probations involving the entire team and/or coach are also possible. Infractions reported by GMSA to TSSA are subject to state-wide bans as dictated by TSSA. Any offense of Class Three or higher also carries a probationary period for the player in question (across all league play); should the player in question be guilty of another Class Three or higher sending off offense within that same season, it will result in a suspension for the remainder of the season from all GMSA competition. Furthermore, any player(s), or team(s) as a whole that is (are) involved in any incident that forces the abandonment of a match by the referee, will be subject to a GMSA Disciplinary Committee review.

H. The Disciplinary Chair holds the authority to augment the method of all deliberations as circumstances necessitate.