BRIDPORT RUGBY FOOTBALL CLUB DISCIPLINE POLICY

Transcription

1 DISCIPLINE POLICY The Club is responsible for dealing with any act of indiscipline on or off the field of play by players, supporters, officials, parents and spectators, or any Club member who uses threatening or abusive language or inappropriate behavior towards any other member or visitor to the Club or in any way brings the Club or the game into disrepute. 1. THE DISCIPLINE SUB-COMMITTEE 1.1. The Club Discipline Sub-Committee will be responsible for investigating and taking action on any sending off or other matter of indiscipline by a Bridport player subject to caution or sanction by a Match official and any incident of foul play or bad behaviour by a Bridport player not detected by the Match Officials and instances where a player has been sin binned an excessive number of times They will also investigate and take action on any instance of indiscipline or bad behavior by any Bridport member, supporter or spectator The Club Discipline Sub-Committee will also be responsible for investigating and taking action in connection with Breaches or alleged Breaches of the Club Codes of Conduct The Club Discipline Sub-Committee will also be responsible for investigating and taking action in connection with Breaches or alleged Breaches of Codes of Conduct, Safeguarding Rules and the Laws and Regulations of the Rugby Football Union They will exercise such power in a fair and open manner with the accused who will have the right to attend and put his/her case after first been given reasonable notice of the hearing and to exercise its power without prejudice The Club Discipline Sub-Committee shall consist of three Committee members, plus the Club Secretary to take notes of the meeting The Chairman of the Club Discipline Sub-Committee will be the Club Chairman the Club Vice- Chairman. In cases involving youth players a youth section representative will also have a right to attend in an advisory capacity and in cases involving female players a ladies section representative will also have a right to attend in an advisory capacity The Club Discipline Sub-Committee will meet as soon as practicable and no longer than 1 week after the alleged act of indiscipline, offence or incident and further meetings may be held if required The reported player, member, supporter or spectator MUST attend the discipline hearing. He/she may, if they wish, be accompanied by one person of his/her choice The Club Discipline Sub-Committee may also receive evidence (either verbally or in writing) from any other person(s) who witnessed the incident or was involved in it Those entitled to be present at a discipline hearing will be: The player, member, supporter or spectator, The personal representative (see 1.9) Section representative and advisors (see 1.7) Witness(es) to the incident, Club Discipline Sub-Committee members.

2 2. PROCEDURE 2.1. The report of the incident is read to the meeting The player, member, supporter or spectator is invited to make his/her statement Witness(es) to the incident make their statement(s) Members of the Club Discipline Sub-Committee may question any of those present about the incident, and/or the player, member, supporter or spectator involved The meeting will be adjourned while the Club Discipline Sub-Committee decides on what action to take. The meeting is then re-convened and the results of the hearing along with any penalties are announced If an accused or cited person(s) refuses to attend or is absent without reasonable excuse in the opinion of the Discipline Sub-Committee, the matters may be heard and ruled upon in the absence of the accused or cited person(s). That person will be notified of the outcome of the hearing and any resulting sanction or penalty in writing If an accused or cited person cannot attend a hearing due to reasonable cause, the Sub-Committee may, at its discretion, open and adjourn the hearing to reconvene at a later date. 3. PENALTIES 3.1. The Club Discipline Sub-Committee will have the power to decide upon one or more of the following: No further punishment additional to the punishment imposed by a match official To take no action but to leave the matter to the County Rugby Football Union Discipline Sub- Committee That the player (or other, person if the enquiry is into incidents off the field of play) be cautioned or severely cautioned as to his/her future conduct A period of suspension from playing, or taking part in the administration of Rugby Union Football (within the Club context only), or both, be imposed on the player, member, supporter or spectator Suspend or terminate membership of the Club for such period as it thinks fit Any other penalties or suspensions as decided by the Sub-Committee A record of any penalty awarded against any player/supporter/spectator etc, plus the reasons how that decision was arrived at by the Club Discipline-Sub Committee will be kept on file for 3 years This penalty can be taken into account when deciding any future penalties at any subsequent discipline hearing relating to that member within that 3 year period In the event of a criminal offence the Discipline Sub-Committee may impose penalties or sanctions in addition to that imposed by the Police or the Law Courts. 4. OFFENCES AND INDISCIPLINE 4.1. The following outlines the procedure to be followed where an act of indiscipline has taken place: Senior Player sent off by the referee (Society or Club) The Captain or Team Manager (both have the responsibility) concerned MUST report the name of the player sent off, the match including the opposition and any relevant details to the Club Discipline Sub-Committee Chairman within 24 hours of the sending off Senior Player Sin Binned (Yellow Cards) The Captain of the team (or his representative) must report the name of any player sin binned (shown a yellow card) during a game (this relates to all teams and is irrespective of there being a Society or Club referee officiating) to the Club Discipline Sub-Committee Chairman within one week of the player receiving the yellow card

3 A record of players being sin binned will be kept by the Club Secretary; any player, who in the opinion of the Club Discipline-Sub Committee has an excessive amount of yellow cards, may be asked to appear before the Club Discipline-Sub Committee to explain the reasons why Acts of Foul Play not Detected by the Referee/Match Officials by a Senior Player Any member/player who witnesses an act of foul play or bad behaviour by a player (of any Club team), shall report the incident giving name(s) and details of the incident to the Club Discipline Sub-Committee Chairman within 24 hours of the incident Any incident of foul play involving a member of an opposition team that has or has not been dealt with by the match official(s) and is witnessed by a Bridport player/ member can be reported to the Club Discipline Sub-Committee Chairman without delay so consideration and action can be taken if appropriate A Citing may only occur where an act of foul play was not detected by the match officials Only Unions, Constituent Bodies and Clubs or match officials such as the referees advisor may cite a player. It cannot be done by an individual player or spectator Any consideration for a Citing must be reported to the Club Discipline Sub-Committee Chairman immediately as there is a very short time scale and a detailed procedure that has to be followed. 5. YOUTH DISCIPLINE 5.1. The Club also has a duty to deal with all Youth Discipline matters (Youth being a player under the age of 18 at the time of the offence). Any Youth Player appearing before the Club Discipline-Sub Committee MUST be accompanied by a Parent or Guardian. The following outlines the procedure to be followed where an act of indiscipline has taken place: 5.2. Youth Player sent off by the referee (Society or Club) If the player has reached his/her 18th birthday on the date of the incident, the matter is dealt with be the Discipline Committee of the Constituent Body In the case of Youth Players the coach or manager of the relevant team MUST report the name and age of the player concerned, the referees name and society (if any), the opposition and any relevant match details to the relevant Youth Chairman and the Club Discipline Sub- Committee Chairman within 24 hours of the incident This is important as it is mandatory that the Club Discipline Sub-Committee Chairman has to report the incident in writing to the Dorset & Wiltshire County Discipline Secretary within 72 hours of the incident Referees (Society or Club) must report all players sent off over 18 years of age to the Discipline Secretary of the County Constituent Body of the players Club. For players under 18 years of age a copy of the report should go to the Club Discipline Sub-Committee Chairman and Youth Chairman All reports should be on the RFU Discipline Report form Youth Player Sin Binned (Yellow Card) In the case of Youth Players the coach or manager of the relevant team should report the name of the player sin binned (shown a yellow card) to the relevant Club Discipline Sub- Committee Chairman. A record of players being sin binned will be kept by the relevant Club Secretary. Any player who has been sin binned twice in a season may be asked to appear before the Club Discipline Sub-Committee Youth section cases dealt with by the Club Discipline Sub-Committee - Penalties The Club Discipline Sub-Committee can impose the same penalties as for any player, spectator, member etc as outlined in section 3 of this document however, the age and

4 seriousness of the offence must be taken into account when deciding penalties. Depending on the circumstances, Under 18 players are normally suspended for shorter periods than adults A list of recommended sanctions for Youth players (under 18 years of age) is outlined in Appendix 3 at the end of the Disciplinary Procedures section in the RFU Handbook A record of the penalty awarded against any youth player/spectator etc (if any), plus the reasons how that decision was arrived at by the Club Discipline-Sub Committee will be kept on file for 3 years. This penalty can be taken into account when deciding any future penalties at any subsequent discipline hearing relating to that member within that 3 year period. 6. MEMBERS, SPECTATORS, SUPPORTERS OR VISITORS DISCIPLINE 6.1. The Club reserves the right to deal with all Members, Spectators, Supporters or Visitor Discipline matters Acts of Bad Behavior by Members, Spectators, Supporters or Visitors Any member/player who witnesses an act of bad behavior at any time by any Club Member, or visitor to the Club, of whatever age, can report the matter to the Club Discipline Sub- Committee Chairman so the appropriate action can be taken In all cases the Club Discipline Sub-Committee Chairman will refer the matter for action by the Club Discipline-Sub Committee, for the appropriate action to be taken. In extreme cases the Disciplinary Committee may recommend action to be taken by the General Committee Penalties The Club Discipline Sub-Committee can impose the same penalties as for any player, spectator, member, visitor etc as outlined in section 3 of this document, as applicable The Club Discipline Sub-Committee may also impose sanctions included temporary or permanent bans from Club premises and premises used by the Club, such as playing pitches. 7. CLUB CODES OF CONDUCT 7.1. Purpose of the Codes The Club has developed Codes of Conduct to assist in the good management of the Club and it s activities The Codes will be amended from time to time to reflect changing requirements of the Club, the Rugby Football Union and the Club s wider social responsibilities Significance and applicability of the Codes Adherence to the Codes of Conduct is a requirement of Club Membership, representation of the Club, either officially or unofficially and management of the Club The Codes apply to all supporters, volunteers, officials, players, junior players, spectators, parents and other persons attending Club premises, attending matches, attending training sessions, attending club functions or otherwise partaking of activities that may impinge upon the good operation, morale or reputation of the Club The Codes of Conduct and the Discipline Policy will be published on the Club website and on Club notice boards. Acceptance of the Codes and the Discipline Policy is deemed by membership of the Club and by participation in Club activities and business as described in Breach of Codes of Conduct Breaches of the Codes of conduct are a matter within the remit and scope of the Discipline Sub-Committee.

5 7.4. Penalties The Discipline Sub-Committee may impose penalties or sanctions as set out in section 3, section 5 and section Additionally other sanctions and penalties may be imposed breaches, which in the opinion of the Discipline Sub-Committee are appropriate to the breaches and to the good operation, harmony and reputation of the club. 8. PUBLICITY AND REPORTING 8.1. Reports of incidents and hearings may be reported to the appropriate Persons or Committees of the County Rugby Football Union and The Rugby Football Union Reports of incidents and hearings may be released to the press or other interested bodies if it is deemed in the good interests of the Club. 9. CONSENT 9.1. All persons who are Club Members, Staff, Officials, Players are deemed to consent to be subject to the Discipline Policy, 9.2. All visitors to the Club, spectators and parents are deemed to consent to be subject to the Discipline Policy, 9.3. All Parents/Guardians of Junior Players and deemed to consent to their children being subject to the Discipline Policy.