Club refusing to release player

J

joao

BRONZE
My daughter's club is refusing to release her until we pay a part of a forfeit fine charged to the club. We are paid in full on all other charges and 2023/2024 competition is over, so the Transfer Policy seems to say they cannot refuse to release her. Can they do this? The SoCal Soccer League Handbook says, "Forfeits are charged to the club, not the team," (bold from the handbook itself) so can this fine be transferred to the team players?

The forfeit was the last game of State Cup. Our coach quit (with several weeks' advance notice) and the club did not provide a replacement, so we didn't have an official coach for any of our State Cup games and this caused attendance to crash for the last game and we had to forfeit since we only had six girls.

By the way, are the full rules/bylaws of SoCal Soccer League available anywhere?
 
joao said:
My daughter's club is refusing to release her until we pay a part of a forfeit fine charged to the club. We are paid in full on all other charges and 2023/2024 competition is over, so the Transfer Policy seems to say they cannot refuse to release her. Can they do this? The SoCal Soccer League Handbook says, "Forfeits are charged to the club, not the team," (bold from the handbook itself) so can this fine be transferred to the team players?

The forfeit was the last game of State Cup. Our coach quit (with several weeks' advance notice) and the club did not provide a replacement, so we didn't have an official coach for any of our State Cup games and this caused attendance to crash for the last game and we had to forfeit since we only had six girls.

By the way, are the full rules/bylaws of SoCal Soccer League available anywhere?
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You don't have to be worried about this, after State Cup is over your a free to go anywhere and there is no need for release.
 
joao said:
My daughter's club is refusing to release her until we pay a part of a forfeit fine charged to the club. We are paid in full on all other charges and 2023/2024 competition is over, so the Transfer Policy seems to say they cannot refuse to release her. Can they do this? The SoCal Soccer League Handbook says, "Forfeits are charged to the club, not the team," (bold from the handbook itself) so can this fine be transferred to the team players?

The forfeit was the last game of State Cup. Our coach quit (with several weeks' advance notice) and the club did not provide a replacement, so we didn't have an official coach for any of our State Cup games and this caused attendance to crash for the last game and we had to forfeit since we only had six girls.

By the way, are the full rules/bylaws of SoCal Soccer League available anywhere?
Click to expand...
Wow, "pay to play" is now "pay to leave." I had a club refuse to release my dd right before the cut off for playoff roster. Sour grapes. I made a call and let them know they better release or else. Good luck joao.....
 
RandomSoccerFan said:
The Handbook is right up here: https://www.socalsoccerleague.org/resources

Click on resources, and the link for the handbook should pop up. I'm not sure if that's the complete rules/bylaws you are looking for, but it is likely the most complete and up-to-date doc.
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Yeah, that's the handbook I linked in the comment. It's clearly a hacked up summary of the real rules (undefined terms, repeated sections, etc.) and that's why I was looking for the actual rules/bylaws.
 
Eagle33 said:
You don't have to be worried about this, after State Cup is over your a free to go anywhere and there is no need for release.
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I wish this were true, but I am worried. The old team finished State Cup on March 9, our contract with the old club ended on April 30, and my daughter was accepted at another club way back during February tryouts and yet the old club refuses to release her and her teammates unless they pay the fine. I don't have any faith that the old club will follow the rules unless I present some iron-clad evidence that they cannot do this.

That's why I'm interested in seeing the real rules. The Handbook says forfeits are a club fine, not a team fine. It also It's interesting to note that the fine has not shown up on my old club account charges -- that shows us as paid in full.
 
Soccer1234 said:
If you have an issue, contact SOCAL or US Club who will release your player.
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I contacted SoCal Soccer League. They said I had to pay the fine, but when I asked about why the Handbook says forfeits are a club fine, not a team fine, they stopped responding to my emails.

One thing I've seen as I've reviewed the club contract and the handbook is that players have very little protection against things like this. Everything spells out player/parent responsibilities towards the club, but not club responsibilities to the players. For the last two months of our season we only had two hours of practice a week because lights at our practice field went out and the club did not fix them and we didn't have a coach for State Cup. There's nothing in the rules that say this is a problem.
 
crush said:
Wow, "pay to play" is now "pay to leave." I had a club refuse to release my dd right before the cut off for playoff roster. Sour grapes. I made a call and let them know they better release or else. Good luck joao.....
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Did they release? I feel like the club is just trying to get some extra money and that's why if I present the rules, they'll back down. I am concerned that they'll release too close to or after the roster cut-off for next year. This club is that petty.
 
joao said:
Did they release? I feel like the club is just trying to get some extra money and that's why if I present the rules, they'll back down. I am concerned that they'll release too close to or after the roster cut-off for next year. This club is that petty.
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Yes, they did and I didn't have to pay money to get her released. Super petty. Call the boss and tell him to knock it off. So lame and I'm sorry to hear that in these days you have to pay a ransom to leave.
 
It's all a bit convoluted. As these players are amateur players the club has to release them per US Club soccer rules.

However, SoCal league rules state that a player must be paid in full and have DOC approval. So they can be picked up and carded by US Club, but blocked from league until the prior has been resolved. As somebody said above after your last game in State Cup unto July 1 you are essentially a free agent, but when you signed with your team you may have signed a player/parent agreement. The league does not get involved with those. Hope this helps
 
joao said:
I wish this were true, but I am worried. The old team finished State Cup on March 9, our contract with the old club ended on April 30, and my daughter was accepted at another club way back during February tryouts and yet the old club refuses to release her and her teammates unless they pay the fine. I don't have any faith that the old club will follow the rules unless I present some iron-clad evidence that they cannot do this.

That's why I'm interested in seeing the real rules. The Handbook says forfeits are a club fine, not a team fine. It also It's interesting to note that the fine has not shown up on my old club account charges -- that shows us as paid in full.
Click to expand...
Have your registered with the new club yet? If so, you are done. Move on. Ignore the old club.

If not, has your new club specifically told you that you cannot resister with them until they are released from their old club?
 
Sounds like you need to have a convo with the DOC. Present your facts and hopefully it can be worked out. If not and you want to stand firm on not paying the fee, suggest taking him to court if they continue to mess around with your kid. Just know doing that will likely ruin any chances of coming back to that club, but why come back if that’s their type of ethics they practice. Just ask yourself is it worth the trouble and cost to go this route or do you just take a mental note and not let that happen again to your kid or anyone else in your village and not recommend that club again.
 
Just playing devils advocate here as well. If you all committed to playing state cup then bailed on the last game. That doesn't sound like a club issue, more a team issue, so really you should pay the fine. What was the reasoning for bailing on your last game? Did it leave half a team of kids missing out on a game as the other half have decided to leave? Was the opposition notified or did they turn up to play, and then your team not show? Was it just that your team could no longer advance so you decided to not show?
 
Soccerjunkie24 said:
Just playing devils advocate here as well. If you all committed to playing state cup then bailed on the last game. That doesn't sound like a club issue, more a team issue, so really you should pay the fine. What was the reasoning for bailing on your last game? Did it leave half a team of kids missing out on a game as the other half have decided to leave? Was the opposition notified or did they turn up to play, and then your team not show? Was it just that your team could no longer advance so you decided to not show?
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Did the OP say he is one of those that bailed out?
 
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Soccer1234 said:
If you have an issue, contact SOCAL or US Club who will release your player.
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You must not have contacted the right person. They sorted my issue the same day. I’d recommend messaging Blake or Christine as they’re is no reason a club can hold a player after the end of state cup.
 
Confirm with your new club, but I believe this is how it works:
1-If you want to play in tournaments now, you need a 23-24 SoCal card which requires a release from your current club.
2-Your new club should be able to register your kid fully for the 24-25 season. That takes place in the summer.
3-If you're moving to a different league (MLS Next, EA, ECNL, ECRL, GA, DPL, etc), you are good to go.

It's not common, but some clubs actually give outgoing players the current cards so they can play tourneys with the new team immediately.

Moral of the story: Find a way to make a copy of your players card before the season ends. :)
 
Once more, for those who is having trouble reading.....
You DO NEED release after the State Cup is over. Any club can pick you up and sign you without a release.
Release is only needed from July 1st up until State Cup is over. After that a player becomes a free agent and can go anywhere. Money owed doesn't mean anything after State Cup. Amen.
 
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