[The following was prepared by the New England Rugby Football Union. These rules are not under the control of the Society. However, the Society fully supports the Union with regard to Disciplinary Procedures and hopes that the Union will fully support us.]
In 1996, NERFU voted to adopt the Ontario Guidelines, which list typical punishments for different categories of offences.
Discipline for the NERFU shall be determined and communicated by a permanent three member Disciplinary Committee (the ``Committee''). Members of the Committee shall be elected by the NERFU Board of Directors (the ``Board''), and shall serve a three year term, with the Chairman being elected to serve a term beginning with the spring (1983) season; each subsequent spring season, one more permanent member of the Committee will be added until the number of permanent members numbers three. Until permanent members are elected, interim members shall serve.
Members of the Committee may be removed by the Board by a 2/3 vote. Any Committee member shall be notified in advance of such an agenda item. Should a Committee member choose to resign at any time during his/her term, the Board shall elect a member to complete the remainder of the term.
The New England Rugby Football Union has established the Disciplinary Committee to adjudicate disciplinary matters involving NERFU clubs and club members which arise in connection with rugby union football on or off the field. Such matters may be referred directly to the Committee by officers of NERFU or members of the Rugby Referees Society in New England. In the case of matters arising outside of New England, referrals by other parties, such as referees of other unions or officers of the ERU or USARFU, must be made to the Board or to the New England Referees Society, who may refer the matter directly to the Committee. The policies and Procedures of the NERFU Disciplinary Committee shall control all disciplinary matters within New England except where ERU Disciplinary Procedures specifically override the NERFU rules.
The local union disciplinary committee is only one arm of an effective disciplinary structure which begins at the club level and extends to the national level. The basis of all discipline lies in the club. As such, the clubs must insist on high standards of behavior from their members on and off the field. The spirit and the law of rugby must be inculcated into all participants in the game. Disciplinary rules should be enforced at the club and local union level with the interests of all players and of the game itself.
While all matters of misconduct, on or off the field, which may be detrimental to the game of rugby, will be considered by the Committee, most matters requiring disciplinary action will result from the sending off of a player from the field by a referee.
When a player is ordered off the field under Law 26 in a match within NERFU, the referee must promptly file a Disciplinary Form as prescribed with the Committee and follow the duties outlined by the USARFU in its disciplinary directives.
When a matter arises which, in the view of a referee or NERFU Board member, is contrary to the spirit of and/or detrimental to the game of rugby and which might warrant disciplinary action, such person may bring the matter to the attention of the Committee by filing a report with the Committee. This report shall contain appropriate documentation, including but not limited to, a detailed description of the incident or practice in question and the names of all parties involved or present.
The Committee shall consider all matters referred to it in accordance with Section 3.
Matters pertaining to a sending off under Section 3.1 shall constitute ``major offenses.'' Such offenses shall include, but not be limited to, the following:
All matters referred to the Committee other than offenses pertaining to a sending off under Section~3.2 shall constitute ``other matters''.
A player who has been sent off by a referee under Section~3.1 shall be suspended for the next scheduled match played by his/her club. SUPERCEDED : See Below
In the case of a player sent off for a major offense under Section~3.1, if the Committee determines that penalties in addition to the mandatory suspension may be in order, it shall hold a hearing in accordance with Section 6. The Committee shall have broad discretion in determining fair and just additional penalties in accordance with the facts and circumstances of each case.
Penalties imposed by the Committee may include any one or more of the following:
Major offenses against referees will be treated with severity. Suspensions for physical assault against a referee shall be a minimum of one year in the absence of compelling extenuating circumstances. Repeated assaults upon referees may result in suspensions for life.
In determining appropriate penalties for major or other offenses, the Committee may look to previous dispositions of similar offenses in determining appropriate sanctions.
The Committee shall consider an individual's record of previous misconduct relating to rugby football when determining appropriate disciplinary penalties in a given case.
A hearing shall be held in all cases in which the Committee determines a hearing is appropriate or in which a person facing a penalty following a report to the Committee for other matters requests a hearing.
The presence of at least two official Committee members is required in a hearing. If one member of the Committee is unable to attend a hearing, the Chairman of the Committee may appoint an alternate for that particular hearing, but the Chairman is not required to do so, and the hearing may proceed with only two members of the Committee present.
The hearing shall be held as soon as is convenient for the Committee.
Any person who is the subject of a hearing shall be notified in writing of the date, location and time of the hearing at least three days prior to such a hearing and shall be provided with a clear statement of the offense alleged. If a referee's Disciplinary Form is the basis for the hearing, a copy of such Form shall be provided to such person. Any person who is the subject of a hearing shall be invited to attend to present relevant evidence, including his/her own testimony, witnesses and/or affidavits of witnesses.
The Committee shall invite the person referring the matter to the Committee and any additional witnesses the Committee deems necessary to ensure a fair hearing.
aindent The Committee shall be free to question any person who appears at the hearing or any person whose written statement is presented at the hearing in adjudicating any matter.
A person who is the subject of a hearing shall have the right to cross-examine any person at the hearing who has either made a report against him/her or made statements against him/her.
Under the provisions of Law 6 of the Laws of the Game, the referee is the sole judge of fact on the field.
The Committee shall consider all evidence presented and determine whether penalties are appropriate and what those penalties should be. A final decision shall be made within seven days of a hearing. The Chairman shall promptly notify all involved parties, including the person who is the subject of the hearing, the President of the NERFU Board, the chief executive officer of the club of the person who is the subject of the hearing, and, if a referee is involved, the President of the Referees Society, of its decision in writing.
NERFU clubs have primary responsibility for ensuring that penalties imposed by the Committee which affect club activities, e.g. suspensions, are carried out. Any club which allows a player to play rugby football and/or to participate in club activities while under suspension will be subject to disciplinary action by the Committee.
aindent Clubs are free to impose penalties on their own players in addition to those imposed by the Committee. Also, penalties imposed by clubs on their own players before the Committee has had a chance to act on a pending matter will be considered by the Committee in its decision regarding sanctions, and the Committee may backdate a suspension to take account of a disciplinary action imposed by a player's club.
Any party involved in a disciplinary hearing may appeal the decision of the Committee by petitioning the NERFU Board of Directors within two weeks of notification of such decision. A petition to the Board shall include, at a minimum, identification of the party appealing the decision, a brief statement of the facts and issues involved, all official documentation from the Disciplinary Committee hearing, a statement of the reasons why the Board should hear the appeal, and a statement of the action sought from the NERFU Board. The petitioner must send copies of the petition to all involved parties (including the Disciplinary Committee) at such time as the petition is filed with the Board.
The Board shall consider the petition at its next regularly scheduled meeting. The Board may, at its discretion, reject the petition at such meeting based on the documents received if it determines that no serious error in judgment or procedure has been made by the Committee. Alternatively, the Board may call for a special hearing at a convenient time and place and invite involved parties to attend and make statements. After it has considered the appeal, the Board shall decide either to take the action requested by the appealing party, uphold the decision of the Committee, or take such action as it determines in its discretion to be fair, just, and reasonable. The decision of the Board shall be final, subject to the jurisdiction of the NRU for subsequent appeals.
These rules shall override all prior disciplinary rules of the NERFU, including those appearing in previous Handbooks.
Any player sent off from a match subject to U.S.A. Rugby East jurisdiction will be subject to an automatic mandatory suspension of eligibility to play for seven (7) days or his or her next match (be it for local club or representative side at any level), whichever is longer.