Basic regulations

Etnoliga is organised by the Foundation for Freedom with its seat at Warsaw (00-364), 9 Ordynacka St.

Etnoliga is played in the spirit of fair play. We support and respect each other, making sure everyone is comfortable and safe. Rude, racist, sexist, homophobic bahaviour and other acts of discrimination will be severely punished, including exclusion from the competition.

Participation in the league is free; however, the organiser reserves the right to collect a deposit, especially from new teams. Other tournaments and activities of the organiser may be charged.

Match duration, overtimes, penalties, extra points, additional rules, and scoring system are set up by the organiser and the teams’ representatives before each season.

Number of players & transfers

Teams must include minimum 10 players. In each team there must be at least 3 nationalities and 3 women.

At least two women must be on the field in each team at the same time. A missing women player cannot be filled by a male player. A team without the right number of women is playing shorthanded.

Transfers can be done and new players can sign up before the start of the team’s last match in the round-robin phase. The exception is the situation of a loan. In each match, a team may borrow one player, provided that this fact is reported to the referee, and a larger number of players – with the consent of the opposing team’s captain. In the event of an unauthorized performance by a player, the team will be penalized with -1 fair play point and the match will be stopped until that person leaves the field.

Goals on loan do not count towards individual statistics.

Rules of the games

Sliding-tackles are prohibited. Each sliding-tackle will be penalized with a direct free-kick (a sliding-tackle in the penalty field will be penalized with a penalty-kick).

A direct free-kick is given to a team for a hand-play or foul.

An indirect free-kick is given to a team for: wasting time, dangerous tackling, double play by the same player according to the rules of football.

The number of substitutions allowed during a match is unlimited. Substitutions should be made in a designated zone of the pitch. Substitutions of goalkeepers should be reported to the referee beforehand.

Yellow card is given to a player who persistently violates the rules, does not keep the required distance from the ball during free kick, uses offensive language or swears, commits a major foul. The time of exclusion is 2 minutes (matches lasting no more than 15 minutes) or 3 minutes (matches over 15 minutes) and it is not reduced even when the team loses a goal.

A player is penalized with a red card for: committing (or trying to commit) a flagrant foul, insulting or spitting on another person, and using offensive language or gestures or is penalized with a second yellow card. A penalized player cannot return to the game or be replaced by another player in the match. The player is suspended in the next game unless the penalty results from two yellow cards.

A white card is given to a person for outstanding fair play.

Fair play points: yellow card -1, red card -3, white card +1. In the case of a second yellow card, a total of 3 points are deducted. For a yellow and then a direct red, a total of 4 points are deducted.

Points: 3 points for a win, 1 for a draw, 0 for a loss.

Walkover means verification of the match result to 0:5 to the disadvantage of the penalized club. If the goal difference at the end of the match is equal to or greater than 5 to the detriment of the penalized club, then the actual result of the match stands.

The place in the table is determined by: number of points, fair play classification, goal balance, number of goals scored, direct result between teams, draw.

Final provisions

The participants are obliged to take care of the environment, in particular to use reusable dishes, not to waste water and to clean up after themselves.

The organiser is not responsible for any consequences of accidents, in particular sports injuries, theft and damage to personal belongings. All participants of our classes are covered by accident insurance (NNW) and can obtain compensation in the event of damage to health.

Participants agree to the use of their images (photos, videos) for the implementation and promotion of the project. More information about privacy policy.

Any contentious issues are to be decided by the organiser in consultation with the referee and team captains, and their decisions are definitive.