Question Number: 25591

League Specific 10/12/2011

RE: state champions Under 13

maureen.mahon of Melbourne, vic australia asks...

hi,can u please help... my sons team won the state champion a few weeks ago, there was an incident on the feild with 1 of the other team, the boy a had grabbed 1 of our team mates in a head lock and hit him from under then called him a (black cunt) then our player hit him back, then the ref and turned gave our player a red card, was sent off they other a yellow, and he continued to play.. then they lost 1-0 and we having only 10 players we still won, they were not happy, our team is great never had trouble b4, and we r not loud nor voilent...but now the ref and the team have put in a report that we were violent, swearing, abusive, and also that the boy that got hit had facial injuries..this is certainly not true, as the boy got yellow carded and continued to play, he had not medical treatment there, not a mark on him..as our player only hit back once and was sent off, and after the game their coach had pushed our player that got red carded, for no reason.. the ref was 1 sided from the start of the game, its not fair as our boys worked very hard, and has never been report for anything.. now our club has received a letter, saying we will get a 20,000 fine, and also get their state champions taken off them if we donrt expain.. this has sadden all of us, as non of this stuff had occured, and our manger had started a petion against the other team...how can we fix this , i was there and saw the lot, the other team are lying and so is the ref, the other team is ver rich club, and we very upset they lost...we do we stand.. there was no police or security involved no first aid for the boy that so called got facial injuries and played the whole game...please help :(

Answer provided by Referee Gary Voshol

You said, 'now our club has received a letter, saying we will get a 20,000 fine, and also get their state champions taken off them if we donrt expain'

So explain - perhaps in clearer language than you have used here. It should come from the club, not from a parent.

Answer provided by Referee Dennis Wickham

It is common for a league to look into the facts, particularly when there are reports of conduct issues at a state cup final. The club should make a full report, indicating exactly what happened.
In the modern world, someone is usually filming what happens, and video often provides the strongest evidence.

Answer provided by Referee Joe McHugh

Hi Maureen
The only people that can help are the League and Civil authorities.
Unfortunately there is nothing unique about this event. It happens all the time across the world where two players get involved in violent conduct on the field of play. The referee can only deal with what he sees and hears which was obviously the sending off offence plus caution and he reports it accordingly.
It is also not unusual for a league to look into the circumstances of a fight or a sending off particularly if a player is alleging personal damages. The league however will only deal with the soccer element and personal damages are a matter for a civil court to decide on based on medical evidence, police reports, witness reports etc. Normal legal procedures would apply.
On the soccer part it is not unusual that both teams are asked to attend a disciplinary hearing to explain what happened and also to hear the referees version of events. It is not a court of law but experienced administrators will understand these situations based on what is reported.
My advice is to leave the matter to the League authorities to deal with it. There appears to be a lot of rumour, comments, ill feeling etc which is always unhelpful. Allow the League to deal with it as they do for every other such incident. They have the experience of dealing with such matters.

Answer provided by Referee Michelle Maloney

Your league representatives and whatever national association they are affiliated with are the only bodies with jurisdiction over this matter. Be sure they have all the facts available when the request for explanation is answered.

If there are witnesses besides the boy who was red carded to the language involved and any other behavior in the incident, they should write up an affidavit of the FACTS and submit it, signed, along with the explanation by your manager/coach/team representative. By facts, I mean what they themselves personally saw and/or heard, not what they were told happened, or think happened. The written explanations could include ones from teammates. This helps the committee to get a better picture of the incident as they consider all of the evidence.

What is not clear to me from your letter is why the incident affects the outcome of the game. Your team was the one playing down, so unless there is more to the story (isn't there always?), their victory should not be at issue. What should be at issue is the behavior of the players involved, and any sanctions, including fines, should follow whatever policies and procedures are set out in the league rules.