VFL Rule Book + Conduct Book (25/06/20 & Beyond)

General Introduction

Welcome to our Virtual Football League. Our mission is to create an opportunity for anyone who is willing to take their pro clubs competition to the next level. Over the past few years, we have let the players set the range of competition, and now there is severe competition in all leagues. All players from around the world, are able to join teams, play matches and prove themselves here at VFL. However, in order to start or continue your career, you must have read all the updated rules and regulations below.

Topics

Section 1: VFL Profiles & Conduct

Section 2: VFL Format & Gameplay Rules

Section 3: Complains/Reports

Section 4: Adding/Dropping players during the season

Section 5: Player Contracts & Rights

Section 6: Bans & Suspensions​

 

[Aaron]

Section 1 - VFL Profiles & Conduct

1.1 - VFL Profiles

• Users MUST link their Xbox/PSN gamertags to their profiles. Your site name must also match this.

1.2 - Community Conduct

• All players are expected to follow the rules of conduct whether it’s on the site or in game. We ask that during games all rules stated are followed and fair play is conducted. While using the site we ask that all rules stated in the constitution are followed and no prejudice or harassment partakes on the site. Breaching of these rules and all other rules stated will result in punishment via bans.

• Harassment is something that is unacceptable here on VFL and if sufficient evidence is found or provided, action will be taken. We allow banter and grudges but we do NOT allow any racial, religious, political, disability or sexual attack against any of our members (This involves all text or imagery in profiles too). Every offense of this nature will result in a ban without any warning and we reserve the right to keep you off the site permanently.

• If you have a complaint that needs to be filed please do not do it in the public forum. If you have an issue involving your rights as a player state your complaint to any of the admins on the site. If you have a complaint involving a staff member please do so via PM to Aaron (Gringo).

• Players who refuse to play are subject to season bans or a permanent ban. Everyone is expected to show up and play to the best of their abilities.

• Players have a right to show off GFX work in order of trying to gain a store as well as help the site with GFX work. Selling GFX without a store is a ban worthy offence.

• Advertising without permission is strictly prohibited. It will be followed with a ban if found out, either site, or via Xbox Live/PSN with the intention to lure members away.

• Withholding information that regards the site, either players or staff, will result in a lengthy game ban. Once questioned, we expect honest answers, and take all members at face value. If we see your word is broken, you will receive the ban that was mentioned in the previous sentence. Refusing to answer is considered an admission of guilt and will also receive the same punishment.

1.3 - Admin Conduct

• All Staff are expected to show respect to all users at all times. The only exception is when there is some rant done against himself or his team. Then he has all the right as a USER to comment on this. However, the staff member is NOT allowed to use any of his forum-given powers if he decides to participate in such comments. If the staff member feels somebody has crossed the line, he has the power and the authority to ban within reason.

• The Admin Staff are the heart of the website, please try to show them the respect they give you. Note that a staff member is also a User of the forum. All staff members can join in on debates, suggestions, and all array of threads.

• If the Staff member abuses his given powers, report it to Aaron (Gringo). If the member has a record of said complaints, a staff meeting will be held to hear said members side and to make a judgement on his accreditation as staff.

- Aaron Baker, VFL Owner​

 

[Aaron]

Section 2 - VFL Format & Gameplay Rules

2.1.1 - VFL League Schedule

League games are scheduled for the following days and times on VFL

• Friday – 20:00 GMT & 20:45 GMT

• Saturday – 20:00 & 20:45 GMT

• Sunday – 20:00 & 20:45 GMT


• Rescheduling is not allowed under any circumstances. Games must and will be played at these times. Teams that do not show up will result in forfeits. A forfeit will result in a suspension or ban (See Section 6).

• Depending on the size of the division you are in, you may have 3 games on some game days. Fixture lists are also released ahead of schedule and can be found on your team's stats page (see the VFL Stats & Tables tab for that)

2.1.2 - VFL Cup Schedule

Cup games are scheduled for Wednesday's at 20:30 GMT on VFL

• Germany and Italy leagues have a sub-cup, Pokal and Coppa Italia respectively which begin on Week 1.

• English leagues are all entered into the FA Cup for Week 1. The format of who enters where will be outlined on the thread. However, losing in Round 1 of the FA Cup will push you into the leasing.com Trophy, whereas losing in Round 2 of the FA Cup will push you into the Carabo Cup.

• All side-cups (not including CL & EL) are 1 leg knockout style matches.

• Germany and Spain leagues have a sub-cup, Pokal and Copa Del Rey respectively which begin on Week 1.

• English leagues are all entered into the FA Cup for Week 1, Premier League teams are added a little bit later. If you lose in Qualifying Round, you will enter the Papa Johns Trophy. If you lose in Round 1 of the FA Cup, you will drop into the Carabao Cup. If you lose in Round 2 of the FA Cup, you are out of all tournaments.

• All side-cups (not including CL & EL) are 1 leg knockout style matches.

2.2 - Gameplay Rules

• Holding the ball or wasting time is not allowed under any circumstance. Players are expected to PLAY the full 90 minutes, and show forward motion.

• Goalkeeper Interference leading to a goal is not allowed under any circumstance. Bumping, blocking, touching, and obscuring the goalkeeper, and that action resulting in a goal will result in the goal being disallowed. Evidence will be needed as to show if this did happen.

• How each team runs their line-up is up to the manager of the team. 3 backs, 4 backs, and 5 backs are all allowed formations on VFL.

• Position & Formation Changes can be used at any time during a game.

• The team that is entered in the schedule as the home team must be the one that sends the away team the friendly invitation. The team on the left hand side of the Match Report is always the host. Each team must have a good host. Make sure your host is the best person on your team for connection.

• If the game starts and you notice the other team is breaking a rule, you have till the 10 minute mark in game to back out and provide proof of the rule break. If you see a rule being broken after the 10th minute, you must finish the game and record said rule being broken, then must go through the report process.

2.3 - Team Rules

To begin a game, each team must make sure they are within these rules.

• Each player in the match lobby must be on the teams roster.

• Each Top Tier team needs to have at least the minimum of 5-6 players to start the game.

• Each Lower Tier team needs to have at least the minimum of 4-5 players to start the game.

• Each team must have a player in the GK position.

• Each team must have a player in the ANY position (This player can NOT be the goalkeeper).

• Each team's host needs to be a player with stable connection and the best connectivity to other players on the team. The host will be responsible for lag.

2.4 - Connection Issues and What to do if something happens

If there becomes an issue during the game involving laggy connection, screen skipping, disconnection from the game, the following procedures should be taken:

If players are having laggy connection or screen skipping:

• Teams have the ability up until the 10th Minute Mark to back out of the game due to poor connectivity. Make sure the opposition Team Management is aware of the situation.

• Any goals scored will roll over to the restarted game, therefore make sure before you back out the ball is dead / away from danger. Use fair play as much as possible.

• You may restart the game up to 3 times. After 3 back outs and lag still persists, you must still play the game. Individual players cannot stop the games from taking place. The team must press on without player(s) complaining about laggy connection.

If players are disconnecting from the game

• The same ‘laggy’ rule applies here. Teams have the ability up until the 10th Minute Mark to back out of the game.

• If a team's ANY lags out after the 10 minute mark, the game must still go on.

• If a team's GK lags out after the 10 minute mark, the game must still go on.

To clarify on RESTARTING the game

Restarts happen if a team has lag and backs out BEFORE the 10th Minute Mark. Each team is allotted 3 Back Outs and must ask the other team to switch host. After the three back outs, teams must play on without said players lagging.

- Aaron Baker, VFL Owner​

 

[Aaron]

Section 3 - Complaints/Reports

3.1 - Reporting an Incident

When an infraction of a rule occurs during the course of game play, there are several ways that restitution can be made:

• When any pre-game rule is broken, make sure video or photo evidence is taken. Then proceed with backing out of the game & filing the complaint the CORRECT way and notify a member of league staff ASAP. Do not commence in arguments with the other team, doing so may result in your complaint becoming void.

• If any normal game play rule is broken make sure to proceed in returning the game play back to its' original state as quickly as possible. Make sure to make the restitution clear and obvious to avoid any confusion.

• In the case of goalkeeper interference: Finish the game. Record the infraction of the goalkeeper and upload it to any web hosting site. Send the link to the League Administrators. A judgement will be made by the end of the day on the matter.

• In the event that a goal is scored due to a rule break: Finish the game. Record the infraction of the rule being broken and upload it to any web hosting site. Send the link to the League Administrators. A judgement will be made by the end of the day on the matter.

• If you believe a team to have violated a rule, game or conduct, you must go through the proper channels to report it. If no report is made, we cannot help you. Use the Support Ticket System which will directly contact your league admins.

3.2 - Complaints

To file a complaint/report, use the Support Ticket Area located in the Site Navigation and select your League from the drop down menu. Your League Admins will be notified and respond to your ticket in a timely manner. Send everything pertaining to the issue. Send all evidence, audio or visual and all witness names that saw what happened. Once we have looked over all the evidence, we will made a judgement on the case. All reports will be different and punishment will be taken out on those found guilty.

If you are unsure on how to use the Support Ticket system, a guide can be found on this in the guide area.

- Aaron Baker, VFL Owner​

 

[Aaron]

Section 4 - Adding/Dropping players during the season

Each Higher Tier team will be expected to meet the minimum of 5-6 players a roster. Lower Tier Teams require a minimum of 4-5. Teams on Xbox can go over this to the maximum of 20 players - PS4 a maximum of 23 players. Teams on Xbox are reserved 5 FREE releases and will have to go through ascending budget for more. Teams on PS4 have 7 FREE releases. The format of 1 extra release for 1 million. 2 extra releases for 2 million, and will follow more for more required releases.

4.1 - Adding Players

• Any player can be added at any point of the season as long as they are a member on the website. Teams with roster space can pick up free agents at anytime as long as they have not broken any rules.

• Players can be added onto rosters via free agency. If you are unsure how to do this, please view the tutorial on how to sign for a club.

• Players who are contracted to clubs can be sold and/or loaned during one of the two transfer windows during a season. In the pre-season transfer window, any player can move on loan or on a permanent basis. However, during the mid-season window, players would require 4 games played with their previous club to move on a permanent deal. Only 2 games played with their previous club would be needed to move on loan.

• In the pre-season Transfer Window, managers determine the price of players and this can be negotiated between managers. The maximum price a player can be sold for in a Higher Tier is £100m. The maximum price a player cna be sold for in a Lower Tier is £35m.

• In the mid-season Transfer Window, player price is determined by their stats app value. The maximum price of a player is double their value. The minimum price of a player is half their value.

• A player who opts to move on a permanent transfer in the mid-season window will have a contract with the club he moves to until the end of the following season. For example, if you sign for a club in the mid-season window in Season 50, you will be contracted to that club until the end of Season 51. This only applies to Xbox - PS4 do not use this rule.

• All loan fees in both windows are £500k.

4.2 - Dropping Players

• Releases will be subtracted by one for every player you release. A maximum of 5 releases per team on Xbox - 7 releases per team on PS4. If a team wants to release more players, and has no releases, they still can via ascending budget. The format of 1 extra release for 1 million. 2 extra releases for 3 million, and will follow more for more required releases.

• Managers can release players up until Week 4. Releases are VOID after Week 5's Wednesday.

- Aaron Baker, VFL Owner​

 

[Aaron]

Section 5 - Player Contracts & Rights

5.1 - Player Contracts

We use a contract system here on VFL. Contracts are not actual physical items, but more a way for us to keep track of when people join and leave teams. Below are some points in regards to how these contracts work:

• Players who sign during the pre-season period (i.e. before league games start) or any time prior to the mid-season window opening will have a contract until the end of that season. For exmaple, if you sign for a team in Season 50 before the mid-season window, your contract will expire at the end of Season 50.

• Players who sign during the mid-season window or after the mid-season window begins (from free agency) will have contracts until the end of the following season. For example, if you sign for a team in Season 50 after the mid-season window has started, your contract will expire at the end of Season 51. To make it clear.... this also counts if you are transferred to a different club in the mid-season window. - This only applies to Xbox - PS4 does not use this rule.

• If a player wishes to stay at a club longer, he/she is able to sign a contract extension. There is a guide in the tutorial area on how to do this, as well as the rules around this.

• If a player opts to not sign an extension at the end of his deal, they will expire into free agency for the following season, and thus be allowed to explore his/her options.

5.2 - Player Rights

• Every player has the right to 4 games during the season. If a manager fails to provide 4 games to a player, it violates their player contract and will thus result in a suspension for the manager if reported.

• Every player has the right to make a decision as to whether they wish to sign an extension or not sign an extension. It is in the player's hands.

• During the Transfer Window, managers have the ability to sell players to any clubs that express interest. Players can control their own fate and accept/reject moves by acquiring VFL Premium. With VFL Premium, players cannot be sold/loaned in the transfer window unless they also confirm the deal.

- Aaron Baker, VFL Owner​

 

[Aaron]

Section 6 - Bans & Suspensions

The terminology between the two are clear. A ban refers to a playing ban in all aspects that includes everything in which VFL has ties to, whether that be the main league, our Late Night Leagues, or 11s Competitions. A suspension on the other hand is a set amount of games you will miss in set aspects of VFL.

Our basic suspension list:

2 Yellow Cards in One Game = 1 Game Suspension.

1 Red Card in One Game = 2 Game Suspension

Abuse/Harrassment of a User = Situation dependent, but could be anywhere from 2 Games - 2 Seasons Suspension.

Match Fixing (i.e. playing banned players on other accounts, attempting to rig results etc etc) = 2-3 Season Suspension.

Bottling/Quitting Management before the end of the season (this includes being a manager and not fielding a team for league games) = 3 Season Suspension.

Our basic ban list:

Repeated Bottling of Management = Permanent Ban from all VFL modes.

Racism = Permanent Ban from all VFL modes.

Doxxing or Leaking Personal Information i.e. Address, Phone Numbers etc etc = Permanent Ban from all VFL modes.

Attempting to Cheat your way around a Suspension (i.e. making a new account, etc etc) = Permanent Ban from all VFL modes.

(Editor Note - As more situations arise, this will be edited)

- Aaron Baker, VFL Owner​