OLD WOKINGIANS FOOTBALL CLUB – DISCIPLINARY CODE

Amateur Football Combination (rule 23f) requires all clubs to have an internal disciplinary code, to ensure the good name of the club and to maintain the standards of discipline expected within the AFC. These also give the club’s own players clear guidance of the standards expected of them, and the punishments they can expect should they transgress.

DISCIPLINARY GUIDELINES

The Purpose of these Guidelines is to deal speedily with misconduct, reduce the number of offences by illustrating to the membership the seriousness with which the Club Committee views discipline and to reduce the administration work involved.
All cases of misconduct will be dealt with immediately on the evening of the game in which the incident took place or as soon as practical thereafter and in accordance with a scale of fines and or suspensions set by the Club Committee. Any appeals against the standard fines etc must be made to the Club’s Disciplinary Sub Committee.

PROCEDURE

a) ALL misconduct cases, both "bookings" and "sending’s-off," will be dealt with under this procedure.

b) Any booking or sending off recorded by the referee in any game MUST be reported by the Team Captain to the Club’s Disciplinary Sub Committee on the same day as the game.

c) The Club’s Disciplinary Sub Committee shall immediately impose a fine or suspension on the player in accordance with the scale of fines and suspensions as set down by the Club Committee. If necessary the Club’s Disciplinary Sub Committee will consult with the Team Captain, or any other Officer of the Club, to assess the level of fine or suspension.

d) Any player wishing to appeal against the standard fine or suspension being imposed, or who wishes to appeal against the incident generally, MUST return to the Clubhouse after the game and personally inform the Club’s Disciplinary Sub Committee of his wish to appeal.

e) Where an appeal is requested the Club Disciplinary Sub Committee will consider the case. No appeal will be heard unless the player concerned appears personally before the Club Disciplinary Sub Committee as in (d) above.

f) The appointed Club Sub Committee shall consider the circumstances and decide whether to hold the full Club Appeal hearing immediately, or whether to delay the Club Appeal Hearing until the referee's report on the incident has been received from the County Football Association.

g) Fines or suspensions imposed under this procedure, whether under the standard scale or whether decided by a Club Sub Committee, may be higher than, longer than or over and above any suspension or fine imposed by the County FA.

h) An offending player who does not pay to the Club, when required, any fine imposed upon him either by the County FA or under this procedure by the Club shall not play for the Club again until such fine is fully paid.

i) The scale of suspensions and fines that shall be enforceable by the Club under these guidelines should be agreed at the Club Annual General Meeting, though may be varied by the Club Committee if required.

j) The Club Disciplinary Sub Committee shall advise the Club Treasurer of any decision where the payment of a fine is involved and the Club Treasurer shall ensure the fine is paid.

k) The Club Disciplinary Sub Committee shall advise the Club Selection Officer / Chairman / Vice / Teamsheet Sec in order that any player suspended under these Rules or who may not have paid his fine, is made unavailable for Selection, for the duration of his ban.

l) The Club Disciplinary Sub Committee shall advise the Club Committee of all decisions made under this procedure in order that the action can be ratified, if agreed with by the Club Committee.

DISCIPLINARY SUB COMMITTEE

The Club Disciplinary Sub Committee shall consist of three members of the Club, being:

a) The Club Secretary (or Chairman or Vice Chairman), who shall chair all meetings of the Sub Committee.

b) A minimum of two others at the Club Secretary’s (or Chairman or Vice Chairman) discretion.
One of the members present at each meeting MUST have been playing in or present at the match in which the offence took place, preferably being the Captain on the day.

OPERATION

a) The Club Disciplinary Sub Committee will deal with all offences referred to it.

b) The Club Disciplinary Sub Committee will meet at the first available opportunity following the offence, preferably on the evening after the game, although in some cases it may be advisable to wait for the receipt of the referee's report from the County FA. The Team Captain will advise the player to make himself available for the meeting.

c) The meeting will take the following form:

i) The Captain on the day and where possible the other player will give their accounts of the incident to the Club Disciplinary Sub Committee, who will discuss the incident in private.

ii) The offending player will then be invited before the Club Disciplinary Sub Committee to give his version of the incident, if he so wishes.

iii) The Club Disciplinary Sub Committee will further discuss the incident and reach their decision.

iv) The offending player will be advised of the Club Disciplinary Sub Committee decision, and any final observations will be made.

The offending player will not be present at (i) and (iii). All the above proceedings shall be dealt with verbally, unless any of the members involved wish to submit written reports.

d) The offending player will have the right of appeal to the Club Committee if he is dissatisfied with the Club Disciplinary Sub Committee's handling of the case.

SCALE OF FINES/SUSPENSION APPLICABLE UNDER THE DISCIPLINARY GUIDELINES - under Paragraph (j) –

The following items (a) to (d) include any fines and suspensions levied by the club’s parent County Football Association (e.g. AFA, Middlesex FA, etc) unless otherwise stated

a) First Caution in any season:

i) If for dissent - £10 fine
ii) For any other offence - £10 fine

b) Second Caution in same season:

i) If for dissent - £10 fine
ii) For any other offence - £10 fine

c) Third or subsequent Caution in same season:

A Fine as in (b) above, PLUS a club suspension for two game.

d) Fifth caution in same season

Suspension until the end of the season PLUS a fine, normally in line with (b) above.

The following items (e) to (h) are in addition to any fines and suspensions levied by the club’s parent County Football Association, e.g. the AFA, unless otherwise stated

e) Sending’s Off carrying two AFA disciplinary points (e.g. for two cautionable offences, for preventing an obvious goal-scoring opportunity):

For any offence - £20 fine

Player also to be warned that any further sending off offence will result in suspension to the end of the season.

f) Sending’s Off carrying three disciplinary points (e.g. Attempting to Kick or Strike another player)

Fine of £20 PLUS a club suspension for two game.

Player also to be warned that any further sending off offence will result in suspension to the end of the season.

g) Offences carrying four disciplinary points (e.g. Serious Foul Play, Kicking or Striking another Player, Head to Head Contact, Use of Offensive Language or Gestures directed at a match official, Refusing to give a name to a referee or giving a false name):

Fine of £20 PLUS a club suspension for five games.

Player also to be warned that any further sending off offence will result in suspension to the end of the season.

h) Offences carrying five or more disciplinary points (e.g. Violent Head to Head butting, causing a match to be abandoned, Improper Behaviour Towards Match Officials, Threatening Match Officials) or any person found guilty of serious misconduct:

Club Suspension until at least the end of the season (to be reviewed at the Club AGM, with a view to possible expulsion) PLUS a fine of £20.

Please note that the above fine/suspension scales are only guidelines and in exceptional cases the punishment imposed could be higher or lower than these guidelines. In such deliberations the player’s record in previous seasons would be taken into account