Disciplinary Procedures
1. CLUB REPORTING (inc COLLEGES & SCHOOLS etc):
If a club, representative side, school, university, or college have a player sent off* it is YOUR responsibility to report ALL dismissals to the EMRU Discipline Secretary by e-mail or phone (see contact details below) within 48 hoursof the offence (copying in the Age Grade Secretary for Under 18 cases).
The player’s Date of Birth & his/her RFU ID number MUST be included, together with the match official’s details & the offence/Law Number committed
2. MATCH OFFICIAL REPORTING:
ALL dismissals by ANY referee at ALL levels (from Under 13s upward) MUST be reported by the Match Official to the EMRU Discipline Secretary.
This MUST be received as per Regulations as soon as practicable but by no later than 9am on the second day following the Match.
For example, any Saturday game reports must be provided by no later than 9am on Monday or reports from a Sunday game by no later than 9am on Tuesday but preferably earlier in both circumstances.
3. PROVISIONAL SUSPENSION:
As per World Rugby Regulations: ‘Players Ordered-Off (or Cited by a Citing Commissioner*) shall be provisionally suspended pending the hearing of the case’ which means that no player can play until the case has been considered/dealt with by the EMRU Disciplinary Panel.
* N.B. If a Club is considering making a Citing of an opposition player/club it is advisable to contact the Discipline Secretary for advice beforehand. Please note that any player cited via a Club may continue to play until that citing is heard by a CB and/or an RFU Panel.
4. CLUB HEARING
The player’s club, representative side, school, university or college must initially carry out its own hearing with the player, following the full Procedures & Sanctions in Regulation 19 via RFU website.
Other relevant documents & procedures are in the Discipline section of the EMRU website, as per link above.
5. SHORT JUDGEMENT FORM COMPLETION
Background:
The Short Judgment Form (SJF) is an RFU document which enables the records to be input on GMS & follows the format of a panel hearing as per guidelines. Therefore, it is very relevant to both Club hearings & the EMRU Disciplinary Panel as it includes all the areas any panel needs to consider.
Completion:
The SJF gives the Club the opportunity to inform the Panel what their Internal Disciplinary Panel outcome was & how they got to that position. The Club should complete it to provide the rationale behind their Internal Disciplinary Panel decisions. It must be forwarded to the EMRU Disciplinary Secretary for the EMRU panel to take into account in preparation for the EMRU hearing.
What/how to Complete:
Page 1: This provides player, match & offence details, when the hearing was conducted & by who. Then it gives the verdict and summary of the net sanction proposed/imposed once hearing completed.
Page 2: This gives details of the offence as per the evidence from the referee’s report, the player version & the panel’s conclusion. This then leads into the Entry Point (if found Proven), a brief summary of the rationale for their decision (either Proven OR Not Proven) is then inserted on the top of Page 3.
Page 3: The first party of the page allows for any Mitigating Factors* the panel has taken into consideration to reduce the sanction. This can only be to a max 50% of the original entry point (e.g. if low end 6 weeks/matches a maximum of 3 weeks/matches can come off the gross sanction).
* These include: has the player acknowledged committing the offence, what is his/her playing experience, has he/she made a genuine apology or shown remorse, a clean record, his/her conduct been at the hearing & finally any other area to be taken into account e.g. volunteering, long service etc
The second half of this page is to provide any Aggravating Factors that increase the sanction on top of the entry point. This could be for a player’s poor disciplinary record within the past 5 years, a need for deterrent or other factors (up to a max of 50% of the entry point as above)
Page 4: “Any Other Information” is for exactly as it says, used to enter any other areas that the Panel need to be aware of not covered elsewhere in the form.
Summary:
There is nothing on the SJF that a club wouldn’t cover in their hearing if procedures are followed and there should be no need for it to be “War and Peace”. Once passed on to the EMRU Disciplinary Secretary for the Panel’s consideration, if fully completed there is no need for any other documentation.
The SJF also provides an aide memoire so that all matters are covered in club hearings, hopefully in most cases as a result there should be no requirement for the club to be questioned on their process and findings.
For any help and advice please contact the Discipline Secretary
6. CONSTITUENT BODY HEARING AND SANCTIONS
The Discipline Secretary must then be advised of the Club’s hearing outcome via a completed Short Judgment Form (see point 9. for instructions).
N.B. cases will only be considered by a Panel once this step is completed. For any support on this contact the EMRU Discipline Secretary.
If the EMRU Panel deems via the Short Judgment Form that the Club has applied the correct verdict/sanction, OR that the offence is of ‘a not very serious nature’ the Panel may decide the player does not need to appear at a hearing in person & the decision can be confirmed in his/her absence.
N.B The offer to hear the case in the player’s absence does not preclude the player requesting a Panel hearing if he/she so wishes.
When a player appears at an EMRU disciplinary hearing at least one senior Club official must accompany him/her. A player who appears at a hearing has the right to request the Match Official’s attendance – however expenses incurred as a result shall be met by the player or his/her Club.
When a player does not request the referee to be present at the EMRU Panel Hearing he/she will be deemed to have accepted the referee’s report as an accurate account of the incident(s) and may therefore only plead mitigating circumstances for his/her actions.
A player or Club which fails to appear at a hearing without good cause or reason will be expected to pay both the administration fee for the cancelled hearing & for the consequent rearranged hearing of the case.
7. DISIPLINARY HEARINGS
To be held fortnightly* on Thursdays in the Larry Webb Room, Bedford Blues RFC, Goldington Road, Bedford MK40 3NF:
8. ADMINISTRATION FEES
The hearing administration fees for 2025-26 will be:
Seniors/Adult: £50 (+ £25 for late reporting => 48 hours post dismissal)
Age Grade (Under 13-18s): £25 (+ £10 for late reporting as above)
9. EMRU DISCIPLINARY COMMITTEE
Chair: Mark Lovell 07543 723857 lovell.mark@btopenworld.com
Discipline Secretary: Bish Seymour 07540 704936 Pb.seymour@emru.co.uk
Age Grade Discipline Secretary: Chris Parr 07814 444699 tcichris@aol.com
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