Dear
Referees,
I have had four people approach me regarding concerns and questions regarding
the new referee waiver and participants agreement. I have emailed all the
DRC's and District with a couple of information pieces regarding these waivers
to assist in clarifying any misconceptions or concerns regarding these waivers.
In order to develop a better communication path I have decided that it best to
also email the referees as well. Due to the volume of District and youth
referees in this province I do not have the ability to email them however felt
as the leaders in the program as FIFA, National, Provincial and Regional
referees you need to understand the process and rationale and hopefully when
approached be able to explain the same message to the other referees.
As mentioned the OSA has received feedback from 4 people regarding the referee
waivers and participants agreements. From those discussions minor
clarification changes have been made to the documents which are included in the
registration documents on the OSA website.
In addition to the changes below is a summary of feedback given to those
concerned parties as well as a few questions that were needing clarification.
Please read this information carefully and if you have any questions please do
not hesitate to contact me at the OSA office.
Summary of response
from the OSA lawyer
Concern: An issue was
raised regarding the language in the document - , “include, but are not limited
to injuries from…” leaves the list open to interpretation which would include
injuries from assault.
Response: The purpose
of the language “include, but are not limited to injuries from…” is to indicate
that it is not possible to list all the potential physical risks associated
with refereeing soccer. Physical risks are associated with all physical
activity and are inherent, unavoidable and reasonable. Canadian law says
that participants can voluntarily assume the risks associated with a sport
activity including soccer and refereeing soccer, therefore the OSA has
attempted to describe the most obvious risks associated with refereeing soccer
and the individual referee is informed of these risks prior to becoming
involved with refereeing the game of soccer.
The OSA is not seeking
for referees to assume the risk of intentional assault of referee’s therefore
changes have been made in the attached wavier to indicate such.
The OSA has been
involved in numerous litigious cases throughout its years of operation.
The waiver is being introduced as a risk management technique that
transfers liability through this legal contract and is a common business
practice. As stipulated above, the OSA is not requesting Referee’s to
give up all their legal rights with regard to insurance, which is in no way affected,
but to become aware of the fact that there are inherent (Unintentional)
injuries and risks related to refereeing soccer and to assume such risks which
may include the negligence of the Organization. Again, I believe it is
important to reiterate that the OSA is not requesting referee’s to give up any
insurance coverage (either accident of liability) or are they waiving any legal
right with regard to intentional acts which cause damage or loss.
A properly worded and
executed waiver of liability can offer the OSA substantial protection from
legal liability, therefore the waiver has been drafted to be clear and
unambiguous, the foreseeable risks, dangers and hazards are specifically stated
and all parties covered as clearly listed as well as the associated activities,
hence the exhaustive list of OSA members listed in the waiver.
A waiver is
essentially a contract and both all parties must have a common understanding
what the contract entails. A waiver fairs a far better chance of being
deemed valid if it is clearly and concisely written. The person signing
the waiver should clearly understand its meaning. Applicable sections
include a description of the risks, the release or waiver of liability and the
acknowledgement.
Concern: An issue has
been raised with regard to whether signing the waiver is voluntary.
Response: All
parties to contracts must enter into such contracts voluntarily, meaning there
was no duress at the time of acknowledgment. The language on the waiver
is to indicate that the referee signing the waiver is not under duress to enter
into such agreement. The referee is free not to sign the agreement but
may not be eligible to referee soccer games for the OSA and its members. This
has been common practice in the OSA for the 380,000 plus players annually since
2006.
In addition to the
above the below four topics are areas that have been suggested that need
clarification. Please find the questions and answers below.
v By signing this waiver do it effect the
referees accident and liability coverage from the OSA?
Not at all, the waiver
is only there to defend the OSA in such frivolous lawsuits that a referee will
try and sue the OSA for
To give you an example.
A referee is refereeing a match, and half way through the first half the
referee trips and breaks their ankle because they tripped on a small hole in
the ground. This would be considered an inherent risk of soccer and the
waiver would be in effect. If the referee attempted to sue the club,
league District Association or OSA because of this, our first line of defense
would be that the referee signed the waiver and accepted this risk. Even
though there are no grounds to sue any of these parties anyway, the waiver is
there to protect the OSA from these law suits. However if the referee
because they tripped over the pot hole need a $500 ankle brace the insurance
coverage under the accident policy would still pick up that cost under the
policy. So the accident policy has nothing to do with the waiver.
Another example, if a
referee is sued because a player was injured on the field and the referee was
sued the OSA liability coverage is not effected and the referee would still be
covered and defend by the OSA's insurance policy.
v If a referee is assault is this covered by
the waiver?
NO! All intentional
acts are not covered under this waiver. Any intentional act is been
excluded from the waiver and a referees liability is not released. Any
act deemed to be referee assault is considered intentional.
v Are the referees the only OSA participants
that have to sign this document?
NO! Since 2006 all
380,000 plus players in Ontario have been signing the exact same waiver or
participants agreement, as well as coaches registered with the OSA. Those
waivers are protecting the referee in the same manner against frivolous law
suits against the OSA and it members including the referees.
v Why the waiver for referees now, is this a
reaction to a current or recent case?
NO! The waiver is a
requirement from the OSA Insurance company. The sole purpose is to
protect the OSA and it members from frivolous law suits from it members.
With recent changes to Ontario laws the Insurance industry has noticed a
steady increase in the number of frivolous law suits over the past couple of
years. The demand from the OSA insurance company to have these waivers in
place is to try and stop those frivolous law suits. The intent is not to
stop law suits with merit against the OSA and its members.
Regards,
Andrew Backer, Manager - Referee Development, The Ontario Soccer Association
Tel: 905-264-9390 ext 238 Fax: 905-264-9445