Firwood Waterloo FC
Disciplinary Procedures and Codes of Conduct
Codes of Conduct
We ask all members, visitors and supporters to read and support the Codes of Conduct at the end of this document. These codes exist to ensure that our club always presents a friendly, welcoming, hospitable and safe environment for the enjoyment of our premises and facilities by players, members and visitors alike.
The club will not tolerate any behaviour that contravenes these codes including, but not limited to, behaviour that:
•puts others at risk
•is inconsiderate, threatening or abusive
•is likely to bring the club into disrepute
•discriminates against any person on grounds of age, disability, gender/gender reassignment, marriage/civil partnership, pregnancy/maternity, race, religion or belief, sex, or sexual orientation
•constitutes bullying, harassment or victimisation of any individual
Such behaviours are contradictory to our aspirations for a supportive and inclusive club environment. Any allegations of such behaviour will be investigated, and ultimately disciplined, in accordance with the club’s Disciplinary Procedure below.
Please be aware that the club vests absolute authority in its staff to summarily eject from club premises any person whom they believe to be behaving in an inappropriate manner. In such an event, the duty bar manager will make an entry in the incident book and inform the Club Safeguarding Officer and House Chairman within 24 hours. They will consider the incident and decide if further action is required, in which case the Disciplinary Procedure will be invoked.
What to do if you wish to report an incident
Please report the incident to either of the permanent members of the club Disciplinary Panel:
Peter EdwardsDr Richard Cooke
House ChairmanSafeguarding Officer
07811 39333507504 029605
Disciplinary Panel
This consists of two permanent panellists (House Chairman or his nominated deputy and the Club Safeguarding Officer or his nominated deputy–contact details above) plus one or more additional members co-opted as required by the two permanent panellists. Co-opted members will:
•be independent i.e. not involved in the incident nor have any vested interest in the disciplinary process outcome and
•have relevant knowledge or experience to aid the panel’s decision making
Disciplinary Procedure
Non–members:
If an incident is reported regarding a non-member, the permanent members of the disciplinary panel will discuss and, in consultation with club staff and witnesses if appropriate, decide on whether or not to exclude the individual from club premises for a period of time to be followed by a review. In the event that the individual(s) concerned visits club premises whilst excluded, staff will refuse to serve them and they will be asked to leave. If they refuse to do so, the police will be called.
Members
If an incident is reported regarding a club member, the permanent panellists will gather written statements from the complainant (and witnesses if any) and decide if the matter has already been sufficiently dealt with or, if they believe a full investigation is appropriate. In this case, they will:
•co-opt at least one more panellist
•convene a meeting of the Disciplinary Panel normally within 7 days of being made aware of the incident
•invite the member concerned (and if they so wish, a friend to support them) to the meeting, taking all reasonable steps to find a mutually convenient date and time and ensuring the member has full information and if appropriate, relevant documentation at least 48 hours in advance
•if after taking such steps the member does not respond or refuses to attend, the meeting will take place in their absence
•At the meeting, the panel will review the statements and invite the member to give their side of the story in mitigation or defence
•The panel will then ask the member to leave and the panel will then consider what, if any, disciplinary action to take
•The panel will then document their decision in writing and communicate it to the member
Sanctions
Typically, the sanction most often used would be to withdraw the privilege of visiting club premises for a fixed period of time. For the avoidance of doubt, such barring would include a ban on visiting club premises for any reason at all, including attending a private function as an invited guest.
For playing offences, the panel would follow RFU tariff guidelines on imposing playing bans.
Monitoring
All incidents reported will be recorded in the Incident Book. The Club Safeguarding Officer will review this periodically and will attend a board meeting at least bi-annually to report formally on incident volumes and any trends of concern.
This policy will be reviewed at least annually, it was last updated and approved by the board on 15th April 2015 and the next review is due in April 2016.
Appeal Procedure:
Should you wish to appeal against the Disciplinary Panel’s decision please address your appeal to
Mr. D Raywood,
Chairman,
Firwood Waterloo F.C.
The Memorial Ground
St Anthony’s Road
Blundellsands
Liverpool L23 8TW
Telephone 924.4552
Codes of Behaviour
Player Code
•Play for enjoyment
•Play by the laws of the game
•Never argue with a referee’s decision
•Control your temper and do not use abusive language
•Work equally as hard for your team as for yourself
•Training is as important as matches, attend all sessions
•Treat other players as you would like to be treated
•Remember you are an ambassador for your club and should behave accordingly
The mini & junior section has an extended version of this player code, but these elements all apply equally to all players old and young, serious and social.
Supporter Code
•Be welcoming to all visitors to Firwood Waterloo FC
•Applaud both teams onto and off the pitch
•Do not question the referee’s judgement or decisions
•Support all efforts to remove verbal, racial and physical abuse from rugby
•Control your temper and do not use abusive language
•Be a good sport. Applaud good play by the opposition as well as your own team
•Treat other supporters as you would like to be treated
•Remember you are an ambassador for your club and should behave accordingly
Parent Code
•Do not force an unwilling child to participate in sport
•Do not question the referee’s judgement or decisions
•Remember, children are involved in sport for their enjoyment –not yours
•Encourage your child always to play by the laws of the game
•Teach your child that honest effort is as important as victory, so that the result of each game is accepted without undue disappointments
•Turn defeat into victory by helping your child work towards skill improvement and good sportsmanship
•Never ridicule or shout at your child for making a mistake or losing a game. Remember that children learn by best example
•Applaud good play by your team and by the opposing team
•Support all efforts to remove verbal, racial and physical abuse from rugby
•All youth section parents are represented on our executive committee. If you wish to raise issues or have constructive suggestions as to the development of the section, please contact one of the officials
•Do not drop your children on the car park without checking that training or matches are actually taking place. This is particularly vital if weather or ground conditions are poor. Contact your coaches before you travel to an away match to check fixture is confirmed
•Please support your child’s team on match days
We ask all members, parents and visitors to support the RFU core values:
TeamworkRespectEnjoymentDisciplineSportsmanship