Disciplinary Team Update – December 2024

Here are a few pointers arising from manging recent disciplinary cases to help you avoid simple but serious errors. To assist you links to the relevant RFU Regulations or other Regulations are included.

1. At no time and under no circumstances is it allowed nor appropriate for club players or individuals to cajole, coerce, suggest, approach or ask a referee to withhold reporting a red card. If the referee gives a red card he must report it. It then goes through the correct channels and is judged accordingly. Clubs or individuals reported as doing so may find themselves with additional sanctions.
2. Everyone in the game of rugby union under the regulations of the RFU is reasonably expected to know the rules, regulations and laws of the game; Regulation 2.2.1.
3. A recipient of a red card is suspended from playing until given an official (NOT one from the individuals club) return to play date. It is reasonably expected for all clubs to know this and it follows that all individuals are also aware of this or will be made aware of this by their clubs. Any individual not adhering to this regulation WILL be sanctioned for contravening it in ADDITION to their red card offence; Regulation 19.4.59.
4. In addition to point 3 above clubs playing a recipient of a red card will be subject to a 5-12 charge and sanctioned appropriately; Regulation 19.4.8 & 19.4.9.
5. Clubs playing a player without effective registration will be sanctioned by the appropriate competition authority. For the benefit of doubt a player suspended does NOT hold effective registration for his suspension period; Regulation 13.2.4.
   Please consult MROC’s MRIS’s Regulations for RFU League rugby or the NLD Competitions Secretary for NLD Competitions if in any doubt.
6. Clubs falsely completing their Electronic Match Card (EMC) will be dealt with by their appropriate competition authority AND the club or an individual could be sanctioned by the NLD disciplinary committee for bringing the game into disrepute; please see contact details above.
   Just to give you a feeling for the implications of this a club and player within NLD have recently been disciplined for playing whilst suspended.
   The club had 10 league points deducted by NLD and 50 points deducted by MROC.
   The player in total received a 13-game ban.