Guidance on Sending-off Players and Red Card Report Writing

This guidance is reproduced from section 5 of the Society’s Handbook (Events that must be Reported)

5.1 Sending-off

The Referee concerned must complete and submit a report form for all players sent-off as soon as is practicable after the match.

Caution & Sending-off Procedure During the Game – Guidance

Caution:

Show the player the Yellow Card, advise him/her concisely of the offence and indicate where you want him/her to go.

Do not engage in conversation with the player.

Make a note of his/her number and the time in the half, indicate where the penalty will be and restart the match without delay. N.B. the whistle should be blown for a second time, the secondary signal shown, and the penalty awarded to the non-offending team.

Sending-off:

Immediately the incident occurs, stop the game and separate the two teams. Show the player the Red Card, advise him/her concisely of the offence and tell him/her to leave the Playing Enclosure. Do not engage in conversation with the player.

After ensuring that any injured player receives immediate medical attention, succinctly tell the captain why you have sent the player from the field of play: do not enter into debate. Make a note of the offending player’s number and the time in the half. Restart the match at the earliest reasonable opportunity. N.B. the whistle should be blown for a second time, the secondary signal shown, and the penalty awarded to the non-offending team.

Note: The purpose of this approach is to remove the offending player from the field as quickly as possible, with little fuss, thereby and more importantly, reducing the possibility of further conflict. Avoiding engaging in conversations with players and/or captains, which will not change the decision made, will also assist in achieving this aim.

After the game do not discuss the sending-off with any player, official, spectator or member of the Media. Advise that it will be in your written report.

All clubs are instructed to ensure that before you leave the club you have the names of any players who were sent-off. Do not spend any time tracking down someone to find out such a player’s name.

Writing the Report

It may be prudent to seek further advice from the Assistant Secretary (Red Card & Abuse Reports) before the form is completed. If the Assistant Secretary is unobtainable, contact the Honorary Secretary or any other member of the Executive.

Caution:

In Level 1 – 4 games, it is necessary to complete the appropriate Caution Form and to submit it to the RFU Disciplinary Secretary at Twickenham within 48 hours.

At Level 5 and below, there is no requirement to report the caution, unless the player is contracted to a Level 1 – 4 club.

Sending-off:

All Red Card Reports Forms must be submitted by email, within 48 hours, to:

1) The Disciplinary Secretary of the Constituent Body (CB) of the player’s club (or the RFU if the player is contracted to a Level 1 – 4 club).

2) The Society – email to: RedCardandAbuse.madref@gmail.com

Retain a copy of the Red Card Report for your own records and/or use at the disciplinary hearing.

Guidance:

Reports should be concise, precise and factual; opinions or perceived intentions must not be expressed. They should not contain spelling mistakes and be sense-checked.
It is important to ensure that the Red Card Report form is completed fully and accurately. In particular, the facts: the nature of the offence (with the correct Law reference), the time in the half (not real time), proximity to incident, view obstructed/ unobstructed and the score at the time.
After noting the weather, ground conditions and the temper of the game, ensure that details of any injuries sustained to person(s) involved in the incident are recorded – this is important evidence. It may be that this information can only be confirmed in the clubhouse after the game.
Where the issue of cautions has to be recorded, please note that ‘Individual player concerned‘ refers to any individual player and not just to the player sent off.
The detailed report of the incident is the evidence of an expert witness – the referee. Whilst it is not necessary to give a full report of the game prior to the incident, do supply a context.
It is necessary to also record previous incidents of foul play and whether or not the sent-off player was involved in any of them.
If the sent-off player had previously been cautioned in the game, it is important to give a detailed account of that incident.
The sending-off incident should be recorded in detail. The location of play on the field, how play was developing and what actually happened to make you decide that the player had to leave the field. What did he/she do?
If he/she punched – was it with a clenched fist? How many times did he/she hit him/her? On which part of the body did he/she hit him/her? What damage did he/she do? How far did he/she travel to do it? Were punches powerful?
If you sent him/her off for illegal use of the boot, be specific – was it a kick or a stamp? If it was a kick, where on the body did he/she kick him/her and how many times? Was it a tap or a full-blooded kick? How far did he/she travel to do it? What injury was caused? If it was a stamp, the same sort of criteria apply but make sure it was a stamp. It is accepted that to stamp one is stood still, so players rucking over could be guilty of trampling but not stamping.

Get your facts right. Players often claim that they were only going for the ball, so state where the ball was at the time of the incident.

Important Note:

If you send-off a player (or club official), you have a responsibility to:

Ensure that your report is submitted as soon as possible, and within 48 hours.
Attend the Disciplinary Hearing if requested.

Your failure to meet these responsibilities tarnishes the reputation of the Society and will be considered accordingly. In some cases CBs themselves have suspended referees for the failure to fulfil their responsibilities.

You may attend the hearing should you so wish. In all cases, you may request support from the Society: please contact the Hon Secretary.
All reports are checked by the Society’s moderator. He/she may contact you seeking clarification and/or to provide advice.