• Comments made or actions displayed that are deemed by others as rude, profane, disrespectful, disruptive, or aggressive, which interfere with the normal progress of a tournament match.
• Inappropriate actions or comments directed at members of an officiating crew. This includes comments directed at the score table, line judges, R1 or R2.  Remember, it is the playing team’s coach who is responsible for monitoring the score and bringing any discrepancies to the attention of the work team.
• Behavior prohibited by USAV and/or PSR Codes of Conduct.
• Misconduct deemed contrary to normally accepted behavior, resulting in the unnecessary interruption of a match.

This policy applies to the below-listed groups at PSR-owned and/or sanctioned events:      

• Any member of the PSR region (e.g., club director, coach, rostered adult, player, chaperone) not currently participating in a match who has assumed the role of a spectator. This policy applies to individuals displaying misconduct before the start of the match, as well as after the match has officially ended.
• Any non-region member, such as parents or relatives of a region member.
• Any attendee or spectator at any PSR-sanctioned event.

Yellow & red card sanctions may still be used for match participants, in accordance with the USAV Rules Book and are their own sanctioning scale, separate of Purple Card sanctions.

The Purple Card is applied to any situation during a match where spectator misconduct occurs, and the on-court official and/or tournament staff deems the misconduct serious enough to be addressed. A PSR official and/or tournament staff may issue a Purple Card either from the stand or while overseeing the court.

Misconduct occurring before or after a match is handled through applicable policies, such as the Parent/Spectator Code of Conduct.

Depending on the seriousness of the offense, an official and/or tournament staff may ask for a spectator to be removed from the facility, with or without a warning. No cards will be displayed.

• The referee and/or tournament staff stops the match and secures the safety of the match participants.
• The referee consults the tournament director, facility staff, and head coach of the team to ask the spectator to vacate the facility.
  • If the spectator refuses to leave the facility in a timely manner, law enforcement is notified immediately.

• Individuals who receive a second Purple Card in the same season must complete the Elevate Respect course from Officially Human and submit a certificate of completion to the PSR office BEFORE attending a subsequent PSR-hosted or sanctioned event. 
• Individuals who receive a third Purple Card in the same season may be subject to a suspension from PSR-hosted or sanctioned events for the remainder of the season.
• All Purple Card sanctions and subsequent consequences are subject to appeal to the PSR Commissioner.

It is the duty of the on-court officials, other PSR officials on site, team coaches, and the tournament staff to utilize all intervention tools/methods and work collaboratively to prevent spectators from reaching the sanctioning level. This is done first through a verbal warning, then through the issuance of a Purple Card.

After a verbal warning is issued, if the behavior does not improve, the following happens:

• Purple Card & Yellow Card are displayed in one hand, as a warning to the team with which the spectator is affiliated.
  • The referee shall direct an individual from the officiating crew to find and alert the tournament staff to come to their court if not already there.
  • Both team captains are summoned to the referee stand and will then notify their head coach that a spectator potentially affiliated with their team has been sanctioned.
  • Once the affiliation of the spectator is determined, the head coach will inform the offender of the warning.
  • If the offender refuses to identify their team affiliation, they may be subject to more serious sanctions, including expulsion from the facility.
• A Purple Card/Yellow Card warning is assessed to the team and is in force for the entire match. A team may only receive one such warning per match.
• Purple Card/Yellow Card warnings are recorded on the scoresheet but have no immediate consequences.

Further misconduct by spectators affiliated with the same team (even if the misconduct is from a different individual(s) that led to the Purple Card Warning) may be sanctioned as follows:

• Purple Card & Red Card are displayed in one hand by the official. Sanction is penalized with a penalty point and service to the opponent.
  • The referee shall direct an individual from the officiating crew to find and alert the tournament staff to come to their court if not already there.
  • Both team captains are summoned to the referee stand and will then notify their head coach that a spectator potentially affiliated with their team has been sanctioned.
  • Once the affiliation of the spectator is determined, the head coach will inform the offender of the warning.
  • If the offender refuses to identify their team affiliation, they may be subject to more serious sanctions, including expulsion from the facility.

• Purple Card & Yellow Card (Warning)
  • Record “PC” in the “W Warn” column, along with the team identifier (A or B), set number, and score at which the sanction was issued.
• Purple Card & Red Card (Penalty)
  • Record “PC” in the “P Penalty” column, along with the team identifier (A or B), set number, and score at which the sanction was issued.
  • If the penalty is against the serving team, record the serving team’s exit score. Record the penalty point for the opponent by slashing and circling the opponent’s next point in the “Points” column.
  • If the penalty is against the receiving team record the awarded penalty point by slashing and circling the serving team’s next point in the “Points” column.

Officials will report any Purple Card issued to the tournament staff who will be asked to complete the Conduct Situation form on the PSR website.  Officials will report any Purple Card issued on their Officials Daily Report form.

When a Conduct Situation Form and an Officials Daily Report form are submitted to the office, a formal notice will be sent to the club who was reported. Clubs will have the option to respond to this notice and the information submitted may be used to determine the validity of the sanction.