To help control matches, volleyball referees have had both yellow and red cards as part of their arsenal when either players and coaches needed to be reprimanded.
For one region within USA Volleyball, referees will now have a third colored card in their pocket for spectator issues. The Arizona Region Board of Directors approved the use of the purple card to curb parent and spectator bad behavior. This policy was adopted in August 2017 and will be in use for the 2018 season and beyond.
Like all other regions within USA Volleyball, the Arizona Region encourages its parents/spectators and club personnel to cheer for their teams/players in a positive manner rather than negative attacks toward our officials, tournament personnel and members of the opposing teams. The Arizona Region is using the purple card as one avenue to reach that goal.
The official volleyball rules allow for an official to give point sanctions to players and coaches for bad behavior during a match (yellow card = warning, red card = penalty). The purple card has been added to the officials’ tools for Arizona Region matches, but will be used to address spectator behavior during a match.
The first issuance of the purple card will be displayed in one hand together with a yellow card. The captains will be called over and the offending spectator will be identified with a team or club. The TEAM will then be issued a warning regarding spectators.
The second issuance of the purple card during the same match to a spectator from the same team, regardless if it is the SAME spectator that was issued the first purple card, will result in a penalty. This will cause the offending fan’s team to be penalized with the loss of serve and a point will be given to the opponent.
The third issuance of the purple card during the same match to a spectator from the same team will result in an ejection of the offending spectator from the tournament facility. The official will come off the stand, the site director and lead official will be called to the court and the offending spectator will be removed from the tournament site for the remainder of the day.
In the event of aggressive or defiant behavior, fighting or any other behavior directed towards anyone or deemed unsafe toward others, the spectator will be BANNED from further Arizona Region tournaments for the rest of the season. The spectator will have to appeal to the Region Ethics and Compliance officer to be reinstated and allowed to return to any Arizona Region events.
This Arizona Region policy replaces the Penalty Point Sanction Policy. Before and after matches, the spectator behavior will be governed by the Parent/Spectator Code of Conduct.