Governance & Discipline - Discipline Procedure

Discipline - General

1. The Rugby Football Union (RFU) has delegated to the Army Rugby Union (ARU) as one of the Constituent Bodies, the power to hold enquiries and inflict punishment or take such action as they see fit, subject to a right of appeal to the RFU. Notice of appeal must in all cases be received by the RFU Disciplinary Administrator at Rugby House, Twickenham, TW1 1DS, within 14 days of the date of the decision appealed against and be in a form stipulated by the RFU. Should a judgment be appealed against the advice of the ARU Secretariat must immediately be sought to ensure correct procedure is actioned.
   
   
2. Because of the geographic dispersion of the clubs affiliated to the ARU, disciplinary matters not affecting the Union itself, may in exception, under the supervision of the ARU be deputed and conducted at Division or equivalent level. Discipline matters in BA(G) will normally be dealt with under the direction of the Chairman BA(G) Rugby. The ARU Chairman of Discipline must be consulted before any procedure is initiated at Division or equivalent level.
   
   
3. Any disciplinary cases regarding players at Army Representative level and other cases considered by the ARU to merit special consideration, will be handled by the RFU. Until proved otherwise at a Hearing, a player sent from the field of play, may continue to play in subsequent matches until the Disciplinary Committee has considered the case. However, a player, or his club, may decide that the player should not play pending the Hearing and this will certainly help in any mitigation for the player in the hearing if this happens.

Disciplinary Committees

4. The following will constitute a Disciplinary Committee and attend the Hearing:
   
   
   1. ARU
      Chairman - ARU Chairman of Discipline
      Members - Two members appointed by the ARU, not of the cap badge of the accused. All members must have been accredited by the RFU
      Secretary - Secretary of the ARU (or a nominated replacement)
      
      In all disciplinary hearings, the ARU Chairman of Discipline would wish to see the match referee in attendance. A representative of the Army Rugby Union Referees Society (ARURS) may, if required be called to act as an observer for law interpretations.
      
      
   2. Division or Equivalent
      If permission is granted by the ARU Chairman of Discipline to permit Division or equivalent hearing, the committee should be constituted of the following personnel.
      
      Chairman - Chairman of Divisional Rugby (or his nominated Deputy)
      Members - Two officers (retired or current rugby players / administrators) not of the cap badge of the accused. All members must have been accredited by the RFU
      Secretary - Secretary of Divisional Rugby
      ARU Representative with RFU accreditation
   
   
   In all disciplinary hearings, the ARU Chairman of Discipline would wish to see the match referee in attendance. An observer, nominated by the Divisional ARURS Secretary, may be in attendance for law interpretations.

Function of the Disciplinary Committee

5. The function of the Disciplinary Committee is to arrange Hearings and thereby take such action including, if it sees fit, the award of punishment additional to the sending off. If the referee states at the Hearing that he may have made a mistake and that the player may not have committed the offence for which he had ordered him off then the Disciplinary Committee resolve that no conviction be recorded against the player concerned.

Functions of the Referee

6. Under the provision of Law 6 of the Laws of the Game, the referee during the game is the sole judge of the fact and of law.

Procedure

7. The following procedure is to be adopted regarding a player or official dismissed from the field of play or touchline:
   
   
   1. Referee
      1. Contact the Secretary ARU / Secretary Division on the next working day
      2. Contact the ARURS Divisional (or equivalent) representative on the next working day who will inform the ARU Secretary immediately.
      3. Complete and sign a report within 48 hours and send a copy by the fastest appropriate means eg. Fax/e-mail to:
         
         Secretary ARU
         Secretary Divisional (or Equivalent) Rugby
         ARURS Divisional (or Equivalent) representative
      
      
      
   2. b ARU/Division. The ARU Chairman of Discipline or ARU Secretary, (Para a (3) above) on receipt of the report should within 4 days:
      
      
      1. Send one copy to the Commanding Officer of the player's unit giving notice of the date, time and place of the Disciplinary Hearing requesting him to advise the individual of this and of his right to be present and to furnish evidence;
         And
      2. Notify the referee and ARURS Divisional Representative of the Hearing and invite them to attend (Copy to Secretary ARU)
   
   
   Note: Failure to observe the time limits specified in paragraph 7 of these notes should not of necessity nullify the proceedings.

The Hearing

8. Prior to the hearing the player (and his rugby officer) must read and fully understand the RFU Rules & Disciplinary Procedures available on the RFU website www.rfu.com . Unfortunately, past hearings have demonstrated that not all Unit Rugby Officers, players and Commanding Officers fully appreciate and understand the complexities and detail of what is required.
   
   
9. The Player, and Referee in attendance, are entitled to be present throughout the Hearing, but not during the deliberation.
   
   
10. Witnesses should only be permitted to be present in the room whilst they are giving evidence or making statements.
    
    
11. The Player may nominate one person to be present throughout the Hearing and represent his case.

Conduct

12. The Referees Report should be read in its entirety by the Secretary of the Hearing.
    
    
13. The Referee, when present, may make additional comments to clarify his report. If at this stage the Referees states that the Player did not commit the offence for which he was ordered off, the Committee is to resolve that no conviction be recorded against the Player and that the meeting be terminated. The Referee may be questioned by the Player, his representative, and members of the Committee.
    
    
14. The Player or his representative may make a statement.
    
    
15. Witnesses may be called and make their statements, and be cross questioned by or on behalf of the Player and by the Committee. Video evidence is admissible and may be judged on face value. Written statements are acceptable but clearly cannot be questioned. Should these contain information which may significantly affect the case, the Chairman should consider an adjournment until the witness can be present.
    
    
16. The Unit Representative may make a statement as to the character of the Player and in mitigation.
    
    
17. The Disciplinary Committee should then deliberate on the case. The Chairman will at the conclusion of the deliberation, and in the presence of the player, the representative and the referee (if present) state the finding of the Committee and the punishment, if appropriate.
    
    

Note: Questions to the Players, Referee or to witnesses may only be put through the Chairman or members of the Committee. The Referee may only be questioned with a view to clarifying his report but not to challenge the facts.

Promulgation of Penalty

18. Penalties will be promulgated by the following means:
    
    
    1. ARU. The Secretary will report the decision of the Disciplinary Committee to:
       
       
       1. ARU Management Board
       2. ARU Council
       3. The RFU on the Prescribed Form
       4. The Divisional Chairman to which the Player belongs
       5. The Commanding Officer of the Unit to which the Player belongs
       6. The Secretary ARURS
    2. Division or Equivalent. The Secretary will report the decision of the Disciplinary Committee to:
       
       
       1. The Chairman of Discipline
       2. The Secretary ARU on the prescribed form
       3. The Commanding Officer of the Unit to which the Player belongs
       4. The Divisional ARURS representative

Notes on Penalties

19. The following are notes on Penalties:
    
    
    1. When imposing sanctions, disciplinary panels dealing with an ordering off and/or citing shall apply the recommended penalties for illegal and/or foul play set out in Appendix 3 (see ARU Handbook). Rugby Officers should note that the RFU are currently updating the sanctions for the new season 06/07. The RFU web site will give the latest list.
       
       
    2. Disciplinary panels shall undertake an assessment of the seriousness of the player's conduct which constitutes the offending and categorise the offence as being at the lower end, mid range or top end of the scale of seriousness in order to identify the appropriate entry point for consideration of a particular incident(s) where such incident(s) is expressly covered in Appendix 3. Such assessment of the seriousness of the player's conduct shall be determined by reference to the following features of offending:
       
       
       1. The offending was intentional, that is, committed intentionally or deliberately;
       2. The offending was reckless, that is the player knew (or should have known) there was a risk of committing an act of illegal and/or foul play;
       3. The gravity of the player's actions in relation to the offence:
          • Nature of actions, manner in which offence committed including part of body used, i.e. fist, elbow, knee or boot;
          • The existence of provocation and whether the player acted in extent of injury, removal of player from game);
       4. The effect of the offending player's actions on the victim (i.e.extent of injury, removal of player from game);
       5. The effect of offending player's actions on the game;
       6. The vulnerability of victim player including part of victim's body involved/affected, position of player, ability to defend himself;
       7. The level of participation in the offending and level of premeditation;
       8. Whether the conduct of the offending player was completed or amounted to an attempt;
          • Any other feature relevant to the offending.
       
       
       Based on the assessment of the offence(s) under consideration against the above features of offending, the disciplinary panel shall categorise the offence(s) as being at the lower end, mid range or top end of the scale of seriousness of offending and identify the applicable entry point where set out in Appendix 3.
       
       
    3. Having identified the applicable entry point for consideration of a particular incident, disciplinary panels shall identify all relevant aggravating factors and determine what additional period of suspension, if any, above the applicable entry point for the offence should apply to the case in question. Aggravating factors include the following:
       
       
       1. An absence of lack of remorse and/or contrition on the part of the offending player;
       2. The player's status as a persistent offender of the laws of the game;
       3. The need for a deterrent to combat a pattern of offending;
       4. Any other off field aggravating factor that the disciplinary panel considers relevant and appropriate.
       
       
       
    4. Thereafter, disciplinary panels shall identify all relevant mitigating factors and determine if there are grounds for reducing the period of suspension, if any. Mitigating factors include the following:
       
       
       1. The presence and timing of an acknowledgement of culpability/guilt by the offending player;
       2. A good record and/or good character;
       3. The age and experience of the player;
       4. The player's conduct prior to and at the hearing;
       5. Remorse to the player's actions and the victim player;
       6. Any other off field mitigating factors the panel considers relevant and appropriate.

20. Any period of suspension imposed by a Constitution Body Disciplinary Committee may:
    
    
    1. Be back-dated to start at such a date as it thinks fit if it wishes to take account of any effective disciplinary action taken by the Player's Club arising out of the same incident.
       
       
    2. Include or exclude the whole or any part of the closed season taking into account any tour or other games to which the Player is committed.
    
    
    
21. If a Constituent Body Disciplinary Committee imposes a period of suspension it should:
    
    
    1. Make it clear whether the period of suspension is from playing or administration or both.
       
       
    2. Specify the exact dates (not simply the number of days) between which the suspension will take place, the commencing and finishing dates to be inclusive of the period of suspension. The period of suspension may be split into two distinct periods to exclude the whole or part of the closed season.
       
       
    3. Previous offences should be taken into account only when deciding the scale of the punishment.
    
    
    
22. The President, Chairman and Captain of clubs with a bad Disciplinary record may be required to appear before the Constituent Body to be dealt with.