Football Association Disciplinary Commission

Transcription

1 Football Association Disciplinary Commission The Football Association ex parte Surrey FA v James Rudkin Case ID: M WRITTEN REASONS Factual Background and Chronology 1. These are the Reasons for the decision of the Disciplinary Commission which was held by WebEx on 27 th April The Commission members were Yunus Lunat (Independent Chairman), Mr Kyle Phillips (Independent) and Keith Allen (Independent) 3. Miss Hayley Mather of the Lancashire FA acted as Secretary to the Commission. 4. The charges in question arose out of a match played on 12th February 2017 between Jolly Gardeners First v Art Brut First in Division 2 of the Leatherhead and District Sunday League. 5. By letter dated 8 th March 2017 James Rudkin was charged with the following offences: - Rule E3(1) which covers improper conduct and specifically that the existing sanction of 2 matches and a fine of 25 for the dismissal was clearly insufficient.

2 - Rule E3(2) which covers improper conduct aggravated by reason of one of the protected characteristics, namely sexual orientation in this instance. 6. An acknowledgement to the misconduct charges was filed pleading not guilty but requesting the charges to be dealt with in his absence by way of a non-personal hearing. The Relevant FA Rules Rule E3(1) provides that: A participant shall at all times act in the best interests of the game and shall not act in any manner which is improper or brings the game into dispute or use any one, or a combination of, violent conduct, serious foul play, threatening, abusive, indecent or insulting words or behaviour. Rule E3(2) provides for: Improper conduct, aggravated by a reference, whether express or implied, to any one or more of the following - ethnic origin, colour, race, nationality, religion or belief, gender, gender reassignment, sexual orientation or disability. Rule E3(3)(i) provides for: Where a participant commits an Aggravated Breach of Rule E3(1) for the first time a regulatory commission shall impose an immediate suspension of at least five matches on the participant. The Regulatory Commission may increase the suspension depending on any additional aggravating factors present. The Evidence 7. The Commission had before them the following items of evidence: (i) A report dated 12 th February 2017 and a further statement dated 17 th February 2017 by the referee Lawrence Torz-Brown in which he explained that after awarding a foul against his team, Mr Rudkin became embroiled in an argument with an opponent who told Mr

3 Rudkin to fuck off. Mr Rudkin reacted by head butting his opponent in the face, (ii) (iii) (iv) (v) A written statement dated 14 th February 2017 from Chris Dilley the Art Brut player manager who described Mr Rudkin becoming frustrated at refereeing decisions and following the award of a free kick, he called an Art Brut player a poof. This caused the matter to escalate with Mr Rudkin ultimately head butting the Art Brut player in the face. A written statement dated 15 February 2017 by James Cameron who described Mr Rudkin behaving aggressively and calling an Art Brut player a poof. He described a further incident when he repeated the poof comment following the award of a free kick against his team. On this occasion Mr Cameron decided to challenge Mr Rudkin by asking him to stop shouting. Mr Rudkin s response was to charge towards Mr Cameron and head butt him in the face. Mr Rudkin suffered cuts to his upper lip (both inside and outside), bruising around the gums and nose and severe swelling around his right eye area. He did not attend the hospital for treatment. The assault was also reported to the police. Mr Rudkin was charged with actual bodily harm. The Commission also had before them in the bundle 2 photographs of the facial injuries sustained by Mr Cameron together with a statement outlining his injuries. The Commission noted that beyond the not guilty response Mr Rudkin had failed to file or provide any response or explanation to the allegations. Decision 8. As part of its deliberations the Commission reminded itself of the standard of proof which is required in order to find each of the charges proven, which is on a

4 balance of probability, which means that the Commission is satisfied that any event occurred if the Commission considers that, on the evidence, the occurrence of the event was more likely than not. The burden of proof was on the County FA. 9. In the absence of any explanation from Mr Rudkin to the charges the Commission had little alternative but to find the charged proven. The Commission could see no reason for any of the witnesses to inflate their accounts. The Commission was satisfied that the criteria for the charges had been met. 10. The unanimous decision of the Commission on a balance of probability was to find both the charges proven. 11. In light of the violent act of the head butt and injuries sustained, the Commission was of the view that the standard punishment was clearly insufficient. The Commission placed the offence in the lower end of the high category. Previous Record 12. The Secretary informed the Commission of Mr Rudkin s previous record which included 13 cautions, 5 sending offs (4 x 2 yellow cards and this offence of violent conduct) and 2 previous E3 charges including a similar offence on 19 October 2014 for which he received a 5 game ban. Sanction 13. The Commission referred to all the relevant FA Rules in determining sanction and in particular E3(3)(i), E3(8) and E3(9) and the Disciplinary Sanction Guidelines in arriving at its decision. The Commission noted that the range of suspension for the E3(1) charge was 3 10 games and the normal entry point for an E3(2) aggravated misconduct offence in terms of matches is a 5 match suspension. In terms of financial penalty the range for the E3(1) charge was and the entry point for the E3(2) was and then the requirement to undertake an FA Equality Educational Course under E3(9).

5 14. After weighing up all the factors the Commission decided to impose the following sanctions:- E3(1) CHARGE (i) Mr Rudkin is suspended from all football until such time as his team has completed 7 matches in approved competition. The 2 matches already served shall be taken into consideration and a further 5 matches shall therefore be served in relation to this charge. (ii) Mr Rudkin is fined the sum of The 25 fine already paid shall also be taken into consideration and a further 75 shall therefore be paid. (iii) Jolly Gardeners FC shall be subjected to 5 disciplinary points. E3(2) CHARGE (iv) Mr Rudkin is suspended from all football until such time as his team has completed 5 matches in approved competition. (v) Mr Rudkin is fined the sum of (vi) Mr Rudkin shall complete an online FA Equality Educational course in accordance with FA Rule E3(9) within four months of the date of the notification of the sanction, failing which he will be immediately suspended until such time as he attends the educational course; (vii) Jolly Gardeners FC hall be subjected to 5 disciplinary points. The suspensions shall run consecutively. Mr Rudkin will therefore serve a suspension of 10 matches. For sake of completeness, he will also pay a fine of 150 and Jolly Gardeners will be subjected to 10 disciplinary points. 15. There is the right to appeal in accordance with the FA Regulations. 30 th April 2017 Yunus Lunat - Chairman