Regulation 19 - Completing a Disciplinary Report
RED CARD REPORT
Requirements
The World Rugby regulation 17 requires a prescriptive approach to determining the sanction(s) for players (and some others) for having been sent off, cited or otherwise reported. Disciplinary Panels rely heavily on the match official’s report to contain all the required information and to be clearly legible. Email reports are therefore preferred.
The accused will be more likely to appeal if the report is not clear and comprehensive.
Red card forms must be completed for all players sent from the playing enclosure, regardless of age / game or competition.
If the miscreant is not a player (spectator or coach for example) involved then either seek advice from the Society Discipline Secretary or complete a referee abuse form.
Do not be tempted or persuaded by the clubs “to let them sort it out” if they have been sent off you MUST fill a form in and the Disciplinary Panel or the RFU will do the rest.
How to achieve a well constructed report on the first attempt.
The first page of the report requires largely (self explanatory) factual information. Accuracy is essential since inaccuracies will most likely lead to the accused or his/her representative questioning the match official’s credibility.
The first two sections of the second page again are largely factual. It is the section headed ““Official’s Detailed Report of Incident” which requires the greatest care.
Remember that on some occasions your report will be questioned and any inaccuracies can raise doubts as to your credibility.
The primary objective of the “Detailed Report” is to provide accurate factual information as to what took place. It should provide the accused and the Discipline Panel with a clear and accurate “picture” of events leading up to, during and after the incident.
Inaccuracies in report writing:
If there are inaccuracies in a report the accused is more likely to contest the report and plead not guilty, this could also lead to you as the match official attending the hearing. On the very odd occasion, even if the charge is admitted the accused they may still request the match official’s attendance so as to put the inaccuracies to him / her and may seek to use them in mitigation.
If an inaccurate report is sent to the County Disciplinary Secretary they will almost certainly refer it back for clarification before the report can be sent to the accused. This will delay the hearing. This is why you are strongly advised to liaise with the Referee Discipline Secretary (Colin Burrell) prior to the submission of your form.
Attending hearings:
You may be asked to attend any discipline hearing that involves referee abuse, the Society Discipline Secretary will support you and you will not be expected to attend alone. If you are unavailable or unable to attend then arrangements will be made to use tele-conference or other media methods.
Important Reminders
1. Read the checklist below before preparing your report.
2. If you have any questions ask earlier rather than later.
3. All reports are required to be submitted to the County Disciplinary Secretary within 48 hours of the incident.
4. All reports must be checked by the Society Disciplinary Officer before submission
(in his absence you will be notified of his a temporary replacement).
5. Please use Email for your report, if this is not possible liaise with the Society Discipline Secretary for a suitable alternative.
Checklist
• Where on the field (or other place) did the incident take place? A diagram may help.
• What was happening in terms of play at the time- was the ball in open play or for example in a ruck/maul scrummage etc.?
• How close were you from the incident?
• Did you have an unobstructed view?
Where the incident involved “striking”
• What part of the body was used to make (or attempt to make) contact? i.e. hand, fist, elbow, head or knee.
• Where was the receiving player at the time and was he / she in a position to protect him / herself or take avoiding action?
• Was there contact-if so to what part of the receiving player body?
• Was the contact forceful and with intent?
• Was any injury occasioned?
Where the incident involved kicking, stamping or trampling
• To what part of the receiving players body was (if any) the contact? If to a limb was a joint struck?
• Where was the receiving player at the time and was he / she in a position to protect him /herself or take avoiding action?
• Was any injury occasioned?
• What was the nature and extent of the injury?
• Did the injury require on field treatment or hospitalisation or any other medical attention?
• Was the injured player able to play on?
• Was the offending player provoked?
• Was the offending player retaliating to something? If so, what?
• Did the offending player have to run any distance to commit the foul play? (If so, how far?).
• What was the response of the other players to the incident?
• Did the offending player offer any explanation for his / her action(s)?
• Did the offending player demonstrate remorse (or offer apology) either at the time or subsequently?
Abandoned Matches:
In the case of an ABANDONED GAME, it is imperative that you send a Report to the Society Discipline Secretary (Within 48 hours) stating the reasons for your course of action and detailing any incidents in the lead up to the abandonment. There are no forms for this just use a Word formatted document and send by Email on completion. Where one of the teams involved, comes from outside the County, then the Hon Sec Discipline Committee will ensure a copy is forwarded to the appropriate Discipline Secretary of the County concerned.
Informal chats at the club:
If you have had concerns with persons at a club and have had to speak to a club official, even if they have dealt with it, then please send an Email to the Society Discipline Secretary. This has assisted in the past with ensuring that all of the referees that visit clubs do not get constant issues with certain individuals at the club. This is not in anyway meant to take the place of any discipline form but will allow the Society to raise any concerns with clubs / individuals before the situation gets out of hand.
Miscellaneous points:
We must remind all referees not to engage in ANY discussions of a disciplinary nature on social networking websites for example,
Whats App
Facebook,
Bebo,
Twitter
Especially when a red card has been issued in a game that they have refereed or been involved with, as these will be the subject of a disciplinary hearing. This could seriously damage the integrity of the referee as a witness and if requested by a player, club or other rugby body LADS will provide details of such conversations.