One rule underneath all of this: an Offside event should be somewhere you would be happy to send your sister, your son or your teammate on their own. Everything below is what that means in practice.
Who this applies to
Everyone at an Offside event: players, captains, substitutes, coaches, spectators you bring, and anyone using a venue under an Offside booking. Match officials are covered by it too, and are equally protected by it.
Captains carry one extra responsibility, set out below. Nothing else in this document applies differently to a captain than to any other player.
What we expect
- Play hard and play fair. Competitive football is physical; deliberate attempts to injure are not football.
- Accept the referee's decision on the field. Question it afterwards, through the Event Director, not during play.
- Treat opponents, teammates, officials, venue staff and spectators with respect. On the field, on the sideline, and in any Offside group chat or channel.
- Arrive on time, in the kit you registered, ready to play.
- Leave the venue as you found it, and follow that venue's own rules.
What will end your day
The following are not warnings. They end your participation in the fixture immediately, without refund:
- Violence, or the threat of it, toward any person.
- Abuse or harassment based on race, nationality, religion, sex, gender identity, sexual orientation, disability or age. Offside runs a Nations Cup in which people represent countries; nationality-based abuse is treated as the most serious breach on this list, not as banter.
- Sexual harassment of any kind.
- Threatening, intimidating or making physical contact with a match official.
- Playing, or attempting to play, while intoxicated.
- Registering a player under another person's name, or fielding a player who is not on your roster.
How a breach is handled
The referee handles what happens during a match. Anything beyond it is decided by the Event Director, not by the referee: a ban, a removal, a refused future entry.
You will be told what was reported, by whom in general terms, and what was decided. Where a decision affects a whole team, the captain is told.
- First breach of the expectations above: a warning, recorded.
- Serious breach, or a repeat: removal from the fixture, with no refund.
- Violence, abuse, harassment, or any contact with an official: removal, and a ban from Offside events for a period we will state in writing.
- Anything we believe is a crime is reported to the police. That is not a substitute for the steps above and does not wait for them.
If it happens to you
Tell the referee or the check-in desk at the venue if it is happening now. Afterwards, email events@offsideindoorsports.com. Put "Code of Conduct" in the subject line and we will reply within 1 business day.
You can report something that happened to someone else. You will not be penalized for making a report in good faith, even if we find no breach.
What a captain is additionally responsible for
A captain is not liable for what an adult teammate chooses to do. What a captain is responsible for is narrower and specific:
- That every player fielded is on the roster you submitted.
- That every player on your roster has signed their own waiver before kickoff.
- Passing on what Offside tells you. Time, venue, kit, and any decision affecting your team.
- Being the point of contact if a breach involves your team or the spectators you brought.
Refunds and this document
Removal for a breach of this Code does not entitle you to a refund. That is the only circumstance in which an entry fee is forfeited on conduct grounds.