Soccer body, high schools reach deal on officiating games

An agreement between Saskatchewan’s governing body for soccer and the Saskatchewan High School Athletics Association will ensure registered referees are in place for games in the 2018 season.

Prior to Wednesday ’s announcement, high school soccer players across the province faced the prospect of playing soccer games this season with unsanctioned officials — or, in a worst-case scenario, not at all. Under the agreement, registered referees will officiate games and the Saskatchewan Soccer Association will provide sanctioning of SHSAA contests.

“While we recognize that there has been an impact on high school soccer this fall, we believe that the agreement reached today will result in a better working relationship that will be positive for soccer in schools in the long term,” the SSA and SHSAA said Wednesday in a joint statement.

On Tuesday, the SHSAA issued a notice to students across the province saying it had been approached by the SSA “to engage in discussions addressing the services of officials.” The SHSAA said that to enter the discussions, it “would be required to pay a fee” that it did not believe should be in place.

The SHSAA also said it had been informed that the SSA had communicated to its member referees “that they are not allowed to officiate high school soccer matches without fear of facing sanctions imposed by SSA.”

As a result, SHSAA’S members — of which the Saskatoon Secondary Schools Athletic Directorate is one — planned to seek “interested individuals who are willing to assist with officiating high school soccer matches,” and the districts would attempt to provide a season “despite the immediate shortfall of officials.”

In a statement, SSA executive director Doug Pederson said both sides are “re-focused on ensuring a positive game time environment for all participants.”