Highlights, or I should say, lowlights, of the policy include:
- The Disciplinary Committee will notify captains of an incident that will be reviewed.
- Team captains have 3 days to respond in writing, not to exceed 5 pages.
- Decisions will be made within 14 days.
- Captains are expected to exhibit the highest standards of good behavior and must make all efforts to limit incidents and misconduct.
- Sanctions include suspension, fines, probation, banning fans, missng playoffs, reprimand, and requiring written apologies.
- There is a right to appeal major suspensions for a $100 fee - but not of 2 games or less.
- The league will keep a record of decisions and post a Hall of Shame on the league website (my least favorite aspect of the policy).
In truth, we support many aspects of the policy. There has been a spike of misconduct and it's taking a lot of the board's time. However, certain aspects are perhaps too formal or rigid. If you have any specific concerns, we will have the option to modify the policy going forward.
The full text of the policy will be available on the CCSL website and I am pasting the current draft here:
CCSL Disciplinary and Appeal Policy
The purpose of this policy is to provide a fair, transparent and efficient procedure for investigating and, where appropriate, punishing misconduct by persons involved with the CCSL. This Policy also outlines the procedures for an appeal of a disciplinary decision.
For purposes of this Policy, the term “participant” shall be used in its broadest sense to include, without limitation, any player, coach, captain, team representative, fan, spectator, or other person that is in any way involved with a CCSL team at a CCSL match or tournament.
By participating in the CCSL, all participants are placed on notice that their conduct is subject to the authority of the CCSL, the Disciplinary Committee,[1] the Commissioner, and this Policy.
Part I. General Disciplinary Procedures and Authority.
A. General Authority of the Committee. Upon receipt of a report of misconduct, the Discipline Committee has the authority to investigate the matter and to make a disciplinary recommendation to the CCSL Commissioner. The Disciplinary Committee also has the authority to request a written statement from any person as it deems relevant to its investigation.
B. Notice of Misconduct. The Committee shall notify, in writing, the captains of the teams involved with the misconduct by sending written notice (“Notice”) by e-mail to the e-mail addresses of record for the captains of the team or teams that were involved in the incident.
C. Minimum Content of the Notice. The Notice must contain: (1) the date, time and location of the match; (2) the name of the referee(s) or other person(s) that reported the misconduct; (3) the referee or other written report containing the allegation of misconduct; and (4) a brief summary of the incident under investigation. The Committee may exclude from the Notice personal information that is not relevant to the investigation (for example, the e-mail address and phone number of the match official).
D. Response, Duty of Team Captain, and Timeline. As part of the Notice, the Committee may request that the team captain(s) submit a written response (“Response”) outlining the team’s recollection of the incident, the circumstances surrounding it, and the team’s position on any recommended punishment, if any. The Committee may also request that the Response include a statement from the participant(s) involved in the misconduct. A team captain has an affirmative duty to respond to the Notice within three (3) calendar days of receipt of the Notice and to assist all disciplinary (or other CCSL) representatives during the entire disciplinary process.
E. Content of Response. A team may include in its Response written statements from team mates, supporters, or other witnesses. The Response shall not exceed five (5) pages. The Response should be fact laden (who, what, where, when and why) and should be brief and to the point. The Response should be civil and professional. Personal attacks of any kind are inappropriate, will be viewed with disfavor, and may be redacted from any public decision.
F. Untimely Response; Failure to Respond. A Response that is not submitted by the deadline need not be considered by the Committee. If a team or participant involved in an investigation fails to provide a Response or a written statement, the Committee may consider that failure as evidence of consciousness of guilt.
G. Notice, Responses and Statements Public to the CCSL. The Notice, Response, statement, and any other material included in those documents will be a matter of record in the disciplinary process, so submitters are encouraged to include in those documents only that information that is relevant to the incident and the investigation, and to exclude any personal information.
H. Further Information May Be Requested. The Committee may, in exercising its discretion, request further clarification, in writing, of an incident or a submission. A referee, team captain or participant shall respond to any request for clarification in writing within two (2) days.
I. Other Authority of the Committee. During any investigation of misconduct, the Committee has the authority to investigate and make findings concerning any conduct that is considered inappropriate to the interests of the CCSL irrespective of whether that conduct was reported by a match official and irrespective of whether that conduct was punished by the center referee.
Part II. Committee’s Decision:
A. Timeline for Decision. The Committee shall issue its findings and recommended punishment or sanctions (“Decision”) in writing to the Commissioner within a reasonable period of time, with the goal being having a Decision issued not later than fourteen (14) days after the last set of written submissions was received.
B. Content of the Decision. The Decision must include all written materials that the Committee considered in making its Decision and a summary of the basis for the decision, except that the Committee will exclude from the report the personal email address of the captain(s) that submitted a Response.
C. Goal of Consistency in Punishment. The goal of a Decision is to recommend a punishment that will prevent further misconduct and that is consistent with prior punishments for similar incidents. Notwithstanding this goal, teams and participants recognize that all incidents must be viewed on the facts and that the “cause” of an incident may be complex. There is no requirement that all punishments be the same as those for prior incidents or that teams or participants must be punished on equal terms.
Part III Captain Duties; Types of Sanctions/Punishments.
A. Team Captain Responsibility. A Team Captain is expected to exhibit the highest standards of good behavior (whether playing in a match or not). A Team Captain has an affirmative duty at all times to be proactive, to prevent misconduct by any team player, to be in control of his/her team, fans, and anyone in the vicinity of the team’s bench area, and to take reasonable measures to gain control and prevent escalation when misconduct occurs.[2] The conduct of a team and of a Team Captain will always be considered as part of the Committee investigation. In every match the Team Captain and an Alternative Team captain shall participate in the coin toss and must be identified in the CCSL match report prior to kick off.
B. Sanctions and/or punishments for misconduct may include, without limitation:
(1) suspending a participant or participants from a subsequent match (or matches) or for a set period of time;
(2) a fine to a team and/or a participant;
(3) banning a team from having fans or supporters at a match or for a set period of time;
(4) a reduction in standing points;
(5) prohibiting a team from participating in the playoffs;
(6) public reprimand;
(7) requiring that a participant and/or a team issue a written apology;
(8) placing a participant and/or a team on probation; and/or
(9) conditioning reinstatement on a participant taking a referee training course.
C. Probation, Fines and Bond.
(1) “Probation” means that the participant and/or team may be subject to further, immediate punishment or sanction (including, without limitation, suspension or removal) should the person or team commit an offence of like nature (or of a more serious nature), during the probationary period.
(2) A fine may not exceed $200.
D. Unknown Participant. In the event that a participant found to have engaged in misconduct cannot be identified, but that participant’s conduct can be clearly traceable to a team, the team and the team captain may be disciplined for the unidentified person’s conduct to be consistent with the longstanding policy that a team captain is responsible for the conduct of his/her team and its supporters.
Part IV. The Commissioner’s Role and Decision:
A. Commissioner’s Decision. The Commissioner has the authority to adopt or modify the Decision within three (3) days of receipt. A Commissioner shall ordinarily accept the Decision unless extenuating circumstances exist or the Commissioner is firmly convinced that the findings or punishment in the Decision are clearly in error. The Commissioner will report his decision and, if the Decision is modified, the reasons for the modification (“Comm. Decision”) by written notice to the affected team(s) (“Comm. Decision”), the CCSL Captains, and the Executive Committee by e-mail through the CCSL e-mail lists.
B. Finality of Comm. Decision. The Comm. Decision shall be final and shall be effective immediately, but will be subject to an appeal as outlined in Part VI of this Policy.
Part V. Transparency of Sanctions/Punishments.
A. Record of Disciplinary Decisions. The CCSL webmaster and the Recording Secretary shall jointly be responsible for maintaining a record of disciplinary decisions that will be publicly available to the CCSL Team captains via a password protected website page.
B. Seasonal Hall of Shame. During the course of each season, the CCSL Webmaster shall publish on the CCSL web site, on a week-to-week basis (by Fridays), a list of all misconduct reported by referees that will be entitled the “Hall of Shame” and that will include: (a) the name of the person and team name; (b) the date of the misconduct; (c) the category of misconduct (caution - yellow card; ejection - red card); (d) the type of misconduct as outlined in the FIFA Laws of the Game; and (e) the terms of any participant or team suspension or probation. Once the season is over, the Hall of Shame for that season will be taken down and archived to a password protected web page. The Recording Secretary shall maintain a master list of each season’s Hall of Shame.
Part VI. Appeal Procedure for Disciplinary Decisions
This Part outlines the procedures for an appeal of a Commissioner’s Decision on misconduct.
A. Who May Appeal. An Appeal may only be lodged by a Team Captain. There can be no appeal of a suspension of two (2) matches or less.
B. Appeal Requirements. The appellant must submit the appeal, in writing, to the Commissioner and Chief Justice within three (3) days of the Comm. Decision. The appellant must submit a $100 appeal fee (money order or cashier’s check only). The appeal fee must be sent so that it is postmarked within the three (3) day period and sent to the Treasurer at the league PO Box. A copy of the appeal and all correspondence that the appellant wants the Appeal Panel to consider must be included. The Commissioner shall forward the Appeal to the past Commissioners by e-mail within three (3) days of receipt. The appeal may not exceed three (3) pages.
C. The Appeal Panel: An appeal will be considered by a board consisting of two or more of the past CCSL Commissioners. If a past Commissioner was involved with the Decision or the Comm. Decision, then that person should recuse himself/herself from participating on the Appeal Panel unless the appellant consents in writing to that person participating on the Appeal Panel. If an Appeal Panel of past Commissioners cannot be convened, the Appeal panel may include a former CCSL officer or Chief Justice, with preference being considered to having an Appeal Panel that contains someone with prior experience in the CCSL disciplinary process (such as a former Chief Justice or Committee member).
D. Appeal Panel Discretion. The Appeal Panel may affirm (uphold) or reduce the sanctions in the Comm. Decision, but may not increase those sanctions unless in the Comm. Decision the Commissioner reduced the sanctions from those contained in the Decision. The Appeal Panel shall issue its decision in writing, which will include a summary of the grounds for the decision, to the appellant and to the Executive Committee. The Commissioner shall send any Appeal Panel decision to the Team Captains by e-mail within three (3) days after receipt. The Hall of Shame will be promptly updated in conformance with the disposition of the Appeal.
E. Appeal Panel Decision Timeline and Finality. The Appeal Panel shall use reasonable efforts to decide the Appeal within fourteen (14) days. The Appeal Panel’s decision shall be final with no right of further appeal or challenge.
F. Refund Limitation. Because the CCSL is comprised of volunteers, appeals are strongly discouraged. The appeal fee will only be refunded if the relief sought by the appellant is granted by the Appeal Panel in its entirety. There will be no partial refund of the appeal fee.
Part VII. Additional Considerations.
A. Calculating Time. For purposes of calculating time, the day that the Notice or other request was sent will not be counted and weekends and federal holidays will not be counted.
B. Page Limits. A page will be measured as 8 ½ x 11 in size, with one inch margins, and the minimum type face will be 12 point type.
C. Time of the Essence. Time is of the essence with respect to a Team Captain, referee, participant or appellant’s responsibility to comply with the deadlines in this Policy. No extensions of the time shall be granted unless a force majeure prevented a timely response.
D. Effect of Failure to Comply. In no event will the failure of the Committee, the Commissioner, the Appeal Panel, or a referee to strictly comply with any time limitation or guideline in this Policy be considered as a grounds for failing to honor, or for overturning, a disciplinary decision. Nothing in this policy shall be interpreted to prevent the Commissioner from exercising the plenary power to temporarily suspend a team and/or a player as provided in the Constitution and Bylaws.
E. Matters Not Provided For. If any matter arises that is not expressly or impliedly addressed in this Policy, the Chief Justice, Commissioner, or Appeal Panel may take such reasonable measures as are appropriate under the circumstances. In the event that there is a dispute between any of these persons regarding a matter not provided for, the Executive Committee shall, on an expedited basis, decide the dispute.
[1] All further references to the “Committee” refer to the Disciplinary Committee.
[2] Note that under the FIFA Laws of the Game, neither a team captain nor an alternate team captain has any special right to question or challenge a referee’s decision.
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