AAA needs to clarify soccer rules

Sunday, May 11, 2014

It’s a sure sign a sport is growing in popularity when those involved take action to circumvent the rules.

That’s what’s happening in soccer in Northwest Arkansas, where the sport is still relatively new at the high school level.

Springdale High beat Springdale Har-Ber 4-2 Friday in the latest chapter of a budding rivalry between the teams. Springdale won despite the absence of Orsy Gonzalez, a top player who was ruled ineligible for the game after receiving a red card against Fayetteville.

That ruling by the Arkansas Activities Association energized the Bulldogs, who hung Gonzalez’ red No. 5 jersey from the ceiling of their school bus on the drive to Har-Ber.

“We wanted to let him know we’ve got his back,” Springdale coach D.J. Beeler said.

Emotions at Har-Ber were also high after Springdale added a game in an effort to absorb Gonzalez’ one-game suspension. The rule states that a player who is sent off because of a red card must sit out the next comparable game. A Fayetteville player also received a red card and Springdale suggested they play another game to absorb the red cards of both players.

Fayetteville coach Steve Oliver said no and the Bulldogs lost 1-0 to Bentonville Friday without Nick Kley, its top goal scorer.

Springdale added a game with Harrison on Wednesday and lost 4-3 to the Goblins. Gonzales did not play, which Springdale assumed made him eligible for the conference showdown with Har-Ber. But the AAA stepped in and said Gonzales could not play.

“You can’t schedule a game to serve a suspension,” said Dr. Joey Walters, deputy executive director of the AAA. “That’s the way it’s always been applied. If schools have circumvented the rules, it’s because it hasn’t been reported.”

Walters’ statement is a bit puzzling, considering Rogers added a game with Huntsville after two of its players received red cards in a conference matchup with Siloam Springs. Coaches, apparently, can claim they need to add games because of rainouts when their real intention is something else.

Still, it would be unfair to say Springdale, or other teams who add games, are cheating. But they’ve definitely attempted to take advantage of loopholes in the AAA handbook regarding suspensions.

A portion of the rule reads “A player who receives a red card is ejected from the game…. the player may not play in or attend the next comparable game.”

Next comparable game? Seems a simple solution would be to specify that a player who receives a red card in a conference game must sit out the next conference game.

“That’s the rule for soccer in leagues all over the world,” Oliver said. “For example, if a player in a Premier League in England gets a red card in a semifinal game, he must sit out the championship game. For me, personally, you shouldn’t try to bend the rules. The integrity of the game must be preserve.”

Springdale is ready to move on after avenging a loss last year that earned the Wildcats their first conference championship. Har-Ber must prepare for a makeup game on Monday against Bentonville, which clinched the league championship with its 1-0 victory against Fayetteville. Both teams will then advance to the Class 7A state tournament. But the actions taken last week unnecessarily added to a rivalry that is already heated.

“I respect the AAA’s ruling,” Beeler said. “Once it was passed on, we turned our attention to the next game and tried to concentrate on the things we can control.”

Hopefully, the AAA will take steps before next season to clarify rules that are too often vague and confusing. If not, then the soccer coaches must police themselves.

It won’t work if some do and others don’t.

RICK FIRES IS A SPORTSWRITER FOR NWA MEDIA