Assignment Priority

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:

• Games assigned by the Professional Referee Organization (PRO)
• 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
• 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 policy does not apply:

• Within 72 hours of the scheduled game time unless an emergency situation exists
• When a substantial financial commitment has been made for the assignment (e.g., non-refundable airline tickets)

Responsibility of officials:

• Keep the lines of communication open about upcoming international and national 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 and the U.S. Soccer

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 the abuse of this policy to the State Referee Administrator