DisCom - GAME 12: Chaoyang Park Rangers vs. BTS Korea 94, FIRST DIVISION


Issue 1
According to the sources (IFFC official report, referee report, and the two team reports), in the 65th minute, Rangers player #10 kicked on purpose BTS player #31. The match stopped as the referee blew the whistle to give a free kick and issue a red card to the Rangers player. 

At that moment, two BTS players (#2 and #14) confronted Rangers player #10. BTS player #14, who was outside the pitch at that time of the match, first threw a water bottle onto the pitch and then entered the pitch. A short brawl erupted and the game had to be interrupted as players from both teams approached the scene. After a short period, the referee team and IFFC official separated all players and the referee issued red cards to Rangers player #10 and BTS players #2 and #14.

DisCom:


Rangers player #10: three match suspension for a deliberate foul with violent conduct (according to IFFC Rules, Annex 1, Section: Yellow and Red Cards, last point).

BTS player #2: one match suspension for foul sanctioned with red card (according to IFFC Rules, Annex 1, Section: Yellow and Red Cards, second point).

BTS player #14: three match suspension and fined 200 RMB for posing and threatening to fight, running onto the pitch from the sideline and even throwing a bottle before entering the pitch. The DisCom wants to remind all IFFC teams that everyone was warned in the past about substitutes and supporters entering the pitch during the game. This is unacceptable behaviour. The Korean team leadership is hereby requested to report to the IFFC ExCo to assure that this will not happen again (according to IFFC Rules, Section Behaviour of Supporters point 63).


Issue 2
The referee team and the IFFC official unanimously stated that Rangers players on the sidelines were constantly shouting and swearing at the referee team.

DisCom:
This is unacceptable and against the spirit of the IFFC. The DisCom calls upon the Rangers leadership and their players that they must show proper respect to all referees and officials at future games and are herby warned. In case of repeated complaints, the DisCom shall take disciplinary actions necessary.( according to IFFC Rules, Annex 1, Section Assault on Officials)




Issue 3
The Rangers complaint about the quality of the refereeing of the match.
DisCom:
Generally this falls outside the scope of the DisCom. The ExCo shall check the referee's given grades of the recent past (this 08/09 Season) and in case of recently poor grading arrange a meeting with the ExCo, head referee & the referee of the match and also report to the IFFC DisCom.

IFFC Disciplinary Committee: Carlo Ferrara, Jochen Tenhagen, Gregory Desbuquois

On Thursday December 12^th the IFFC DisCom arranged their meeting, where two cases had to be analyzed, discussed and ruled. For each case, the IFFC ExCo provided the DisCom with reports & statements from the referees, match officials and the involved teams. The teams were informed December 18th at 0:05 am and have 48 hours to reply in case they wanna appeal.

DisCom STATEMENT PRIOR TO THE ANY RULINGS:

The DisCom would first like to stress that their decisions are always based on sources in this ranking of importance:

1. IFFC Official and referee reports

2. The two team reports

All sources are always considered before making any decision.

CASE 1: IFFC DisCom Decision on December 12^th, 2008:

Case No.1 is regarding the match: “French LE A vs. Afrika Utd.” (IFFC Premiere Division, match of Game 11 on Saturday December 6^th at the Lido Park)

According to the sources (IFFC match official report, referee report, and the 2 team reports), after the final whistle Abdul Salam (Afrika Utd’s #10) intentionally punched the Michel Pierre Petit (French LE A’s #15) on the nose . The French player's nose bled as a result.

The DisCom decides the following:

1. Afrika United’s player, Abdul Salam #10 is banned for the rest of 2008/2009 season due to violent misconduct and fined 500 RMB. He can not play again until the beginning of the 2009/2010 season. This is consistent with Rules 2008/2009 (section Fighting/Hitting/Spitting) and prior IFFC Disciplinary decisions for such behaviour.

2. According to official sources (IFFC match official and referee) there is no evidence or possibility of clear assessment of intention for facts other than the official parties reported.

3. According to the recognized and influential role within the team, Afrika Utd.’s Samuel Ahadu seems clearly to be an important part of the team structure. The DisCom strongly suggests to register Samuel Ahadu as an official IFFC member for his team Afrika Utd.. as he signed the match report, managing the team from the bench and communicating the substitutions to the ref. (see last Point No.6)

4. The DisCom appreciates Afrika Utd.’s Captain Adam Labaran behaviour, trying to calm down tempers, which was recognized by the IFFC match official, the referee and the French team.

5. Due to their captain’s and most of his players general good behaviour in a very tense but fair spirited match, the DisCom doesn’t consider for now any further punishments despite of Afrika Utd.’s status of "under probation".

6. The DisCom asks the ExCo & SuperCom to establish registration regulations for non registered team officials such as team leaders, managers, coaches, etc.,  considering that any unregistered team officials until now can act an important roles within our league and can sign official IFFC documents.

IFFC Disciplinary Committee: Carlo Ferrara, Jochen Tenhagen, Richard Lamb

Present at the meeting: Robert Gonnella (IFFC ExCo chairman) and Xiao Xu (IFFC match official)

CASE 2: IFFC DisCom Decision on December 12^th, 2008:

Case No.2 is regarding the match: “BTS Korea 94 vs. Italy FC” (IFFC First Division, match of Game 11 on Sunday December 7^th at Chaoyang Stadium)

According to the sources (IFFC match official who was present at the match report, referee report, and the 2 team reports), during the match Luis Lopez (Italy FC’s #17) fouled Kim Hyun Suk (BTS Korea 94’s #15).

After the foul the Luis Lopez was surrounded by a group of Korean players. They had fast approached the scene and were expecting an apology. Luis did not apologise. When surrounded, he raised his hands as a reaction (in a defensive manner); his action was misinterpreted as offensive.

The BTS captain You Sung Ill (BTS Korea 94’s #5), who was standing 20 meters away, ran towards Italy’s #17 and tried to attack him, but only hit him lightly.

The referees, IFFC Official and both teams separated the two players. Both players received a red card.

Overall, the match was played in a fair manner.

The DisCom decides the following:

1. Italy FC’s Luis Lopez will receive a one match ban for his foul. The DisCom does not accept Luis’ behaviour after he committed the foul, for he should have apologised. As a result, he will receive a warning to respect the spirit of the league in the future.

2. BTS Korea 94’s You Sung Ill will receive a three match ban for his actions and a warning, because trying to pick a fight on the football pitch is not acceptable under any circumstances. As the captain of his team, he should be a role model for his team. In a letter to the IFFC, he deeply regrets his action and apologises to the Italian team and the IFFC.

IFFC Disciplinary Committee: Gregory Desbuquois, Jochen Tenhagen, Gareth Hoar

Present at the meeting: Robert Gonnella (IFFC ExCo chairman) and Xiao Xu (IFFC match official)

Disciplinary Commitee Decision, 07/11/08

George Walsh case:

In Game 6 of the First Division, Celtic Gold vs. Barbarians B, the player George Walsh played for Barbarians B , although he is registered with Atlethico Red in Premier Division,. George Walsh's name was clearly stated on the match report.

After examining the information provided by the IFFC ExCo, Barbarians B, the IFFC DisCom believes that Barbarians did not act intentionally to mislead IFFC because they were enough player to play the match also without George Walsh, and they showed his passport copy ( but not releasing it and neither the registration form) asking to the IFFC official if he was allowed to play. However, Barbarians played an ineligible player without giving the registration form and the passport as prescribed by IFFC rules, i.e. a player must sign a registration form, bring a passport copy and two pictures in order to be eligible to play in the league.

After examining the information provided by the IFFC ExCo, Barbarians B, the IFFC DisCom is aware that George Walsh is duly registered with Athletico Red and he will be at least until the winter break. The DisCom believes that George Walsh did fully act intentionally because he asked during the week to IFFC ExCo chairman his possibility to play, and he was told clearly that the earliest he could change teams is in winter as stated by the IFFC rules. In spite of this answer he went on the pitch, gave his passport copy and played saying to the Barbarians that he wasn’t properly registered with Athletico Red.

 The IFFC DisCom in accordance with IFFC rules ( section “Registration of Players”) and league spirit decides as follows:

 1.     The match Celtic Golds vs Barbarians B will be counted as 0-6 against Barbarians B;

2.     Barbarians B  FC receives a strong warning and is asked to ensure that all of their players are correctly registered. Barbarians B is fined RMB 200 for its negligence, taking into consideration that the team fully cooperated with the investigation and admitted their mistake;

3.     George Walsh receives a strong warning. Players playing in the IFFC should make themselves familiar with the league rules. Therefore, the DisCom recommends that he contributes to the team fine at the discretion of Barbarians B. Since it was intentional he receives punishment of 2 match ban;

4.     Athletico Red receives no punishment as the team and their team leader Stewart was not involved;

5.     The DisCom recommends that the ExCo reminds all teams to correctly register their players and inform their players about IFFC registration rules and procedures. The DisCom further recommends that the ExCo should be checking registrations carefully in the weeks ahead and that any discrepancies will be referred directly to DisCom; and

6.     The disciplinary guidelines regarding registration of players were drafted with the intentional fielding of a player in mind, not necessarily to address the issue of unintentional misbehaviour. The DisCom asks the IFFC Supervisory Committee to review this clause to include specific provisions for unintentional fielding of players.

Jochen Tenhagen

Gareth Hoar

Carlo Ferrara

Kozo Japan

Dan Jie Case:

In Game 6 of the First Division, Kozo Japan vs. French B , before the halftime whistle Kozo Japan’s Dan Jie received a red card for bad behaviour against the lines man.

 After examining the information provided by the IFFC ExCo, Kozo Japan, considering that there is not prior disciplinary history regarding Kozo Japan, IFFC DisCom believes that  the case cannot be considered as an Assault on the Official but a simple Red Card therefore Dan Jie is normally punished with one match ban.

Tatsuo Yamamoto Case

In Game 6 of the First Division, Kozo Japan vs. French B , at minute 76 Kozo Japan’s Tatsuo Yamamoto received a red card for barging  an opponent player.

He asked the DisCom to reconsider the one match suspension providing to the DisCom also a video of the incident. Also although the video is not clear, the DisCom agree with the Referee’s decision, therefore Tatsuo Yamamoto is punished with one match ban.

In spite of those 2 Red Cards the ExCo and the DisCom wish to stress how Kozo Japan always played with a fair and honest spirit totally fitting with IFFC values.  

Jochen Tenhagen

Gareth Hoar

Carlo Ferrara

Richard Lamb

General warning:

Players and managers from many teams are swearing and showing a general lack of respect towards referees and league officials.

All teams need to show more respect for the referees and league officials.

Players and managers are warned against physical and verbal abuse or these examples will be brought to the Disciplinary Committee for action.

Players need to be sure they are using respectful language both on and off the pitch.

Names of players and team members responsible for abuse will be noted and brought up to the Disciplinary Committee for possible disciplinary consequences.

The Disciplinary Committee strongly warn all the teams to fully respect the Referees and IFFC officials during and after the matches as clearly stated in the Rules of the league in the section “Disputes with Officials”

Jochen Tenhagen

Gareth Hoar

Carlo Ferrara

Richard Lamb

In Game 3 of the First Division, Renda FC vs. Barbarians B, the player Alvise Dina played for Renda, although he is registered with Azzurri FC, also in First Division. Alvise Dina's name was clearly stated on the match report.

After examining the information provided by the IFFC ExCo, Renda FC and Alvise Dina, the IFFC DisCom believes that Renda FC and Alvise Dina did not act intentionally. However, Renda played an ineligible player, which could have been avoided had the team managed to correctly register their players as prescribed by IFFC rules, i.e. a player must sign a registration form, bring a passport copy and two pictures in order to be eligible to play in the league.

The IFFC DisCom in accordance with IFFC rules and league spirit decides as follows:

1.     The match Renda FC vs Barbarians B will be counted as 6-0 win for Barbarians B;

2.     Renda FC receives a strong warning and is asked to ensure that all of their players are correctly registered. Renda FC is fined RMB 200 for its negligence, taking into consideration that the team fully cooperated with the investigation and admitted their mistake;

3.     Alvise Dina receives a strong warning. Players playing in the IFFC should make themselves familiar with the league rules. Therefore, the DisCom recommends that he contributes to the team fine at the discretion of Renda FC. Since it is his first offense and it was unintentional he receives no further punishment such as a match ban;

4.     Azzurri FC receives no punishment as the team and their team leader Lele was not involved;

5.     The DisCom recommends that the ExCo reminds all teams to correctly register their players and inform their players about IFFC registration rules and procedures. The DisCom further recommends that the ExCo should be checking registrations carefully in the weeks ahead and that any discrepancies will be referred directly to DisCom; and

6.     The disciplinary guidelines regarding registration of players were drafted with the intentional fielding of a player in mind, not necessarily to address the issue of unintentional misbehaviour. The DisCom asks the IFFC Supervisory Committee to review this clause to include specific provisions for unintentional fielding of players.

The Disciplinary Committee

Jochen TENHAGEN

Gregory Desbuquois

Gareth HOAR

Richard LAMB