Rule 13-4-1-C
a) It is strongly recommended that all games not played at a venue with
adequate artificial lighting shall kick off no later than four hours prior
to local sunset.
b) In the event of the opening kick off for a game sheduled to start later
than four hours prior to local sunset being delayed by more than five but
less than thirty minutes, the referee shall invoke rule 3-2-2 and the game
shall be of forty-eight minutes duration, divided into four equal quarters
of twelve minutes per quarter.
c) In the event of the opening kick off for a game sheduled to start later
than four hours prior to local sunset being delayed by thirty minutes or
more, the referee shall invoke rule 3-2-2 and the game shall be of forty
minutes duration, divided into four equal quarters of ten minutes per
quarter.
We may need a couple of approved rulings to show that a game scheduled to
kick off less than four hours prior to local sunset which starts four or
five minutes late should still be a full sixty-minute game.
My reasoning is that I've used this as a rule of thumb for several years,
but feel something "official" should be in place. As a referee, I have to
factor in the issue of (a) possible injuries to players and (b) the
possibility of overtime during games in November-February.
The other issue is for referees; where to discover local sunset time. The
best place to start is BBC weather. As most officials (I assume) contact
teams and crew members via email, it is not beyond their ken to include this
information. Perhaps a link to the BBC's webpage may help.
|
