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Rules written by the Indo-Canadian Soccer Association — the organization that operates Surrey’s United Summer Soccer Association — say that U13 teams may have a maximum of four “imports” on their rosters. Anyone found violating this rule “shall be subject to appear before a disciplinary committee” and may be fined, according to the soccer association’s rulebook.

The rules don’t define who qualifies as an “import.” In practice, it’s any player who is not Indo-Canadian.

The Tigers were rule-compliant until league officials added to its roster several registered players lacking any team affiliation. That put the team over the official “import” quota.

The transgression was overlooked until Tigers reached the semi-finals at a soccer tournament in June, according to Debbie Christiansen, whose son Blake plays for the squad. The team won its semi-final match against another Surrey summer league team, but the losing coach filed a protest, says Ms. Christiansen. Too many “imports.”

The championship game began without any acrimony or dispute. But 20 minutes in, a Tigers team official arrived and told his coach to remove the players from the pitch. After discussions, a compromise was reached: The Tigers would forfeit the game to their opponents, but the game would carry on.

And so it did, says Ms. Christiansen, for another 10 minutes. Then the opposing squad walked off the field. “Our whole team, even our Indo-Canadian players and their parents, were flabbergasted,” says Ms. Christiansen. “What sort of message does this send to our kids? Not a very good one, I don’t think. What about tolerance and respect?”