Match-based Discipline

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Referees report all match-based discipline to the County FA directly following a fixture, including all yellow and red cards. 

The County FA will then raise charges against the individuals involved and notify their Club.

Faq

Frequently asked questions about match-based discipline

Yellow and Red Cards

Cautions and red cards can be acknowledged through the “Discipline” tab on the Whole Game System. The Club need to confirm that the player’s personal details (address and date of birth) are correct, and update/add them if necessary. Once this has been done, you can click the “Acknowledge” tab.

Please note that cautions need to be acknowledged within fourteen days of the case being raised, and red cards acknowledged within seven days, or you could incur a 25% late fee.

For more information please see our Football Services Guide to Red & Yellow Cards.

You should receive notification of a red or yellow card within four days of a fixture. If you have not received notification by this time, please contact the County FA to let us know the details of the fixture and the referee, and we will try to resolve the issue.  

All cautions and red cards can be appealed on the grounds of Mistaken Identity. An appeal for Mistaken Identity should only be submitted when the referee has shown the card to the wrong player on the day.

If you believe the referee has recorded the wrong name when submitting a caution or red card, please contact the Football Services Team via Discipline@Berks-BucksFA.com or on 01235 544890. We will investigate the matter further and amend the case if appropriate.

Certain red cards can be appealed on the grounds of Wrongful Dismissal. 

Claims for Mistaken Identity and Wrongful Dismissal can both be submitted via the "Discipline" tab on the Whole Game System.

We always recommend confirming with the referee at the end of the game the names of all players cautioned/sent off during the game, and the reason for the cards.

There are strict deadlines for submitting yellow and red card appeals, so please refer to our Football Services Guides to Mistaken Identity and Wrongful Dismissal for more information.

Cautions and red cards can be paid via the Whole Game System, either via the “Discipline” tab, or by the Club Treasurer through the “Club Invoices” tab. Alternatively, payment can be made over the phone on 01235 544890, or by BACS transfer using the following details:

Account Name: Berks & Bucks Football Association Ltd
Sort Code: 30-97-73
Account Number: 02567524

Please make sure you quote the case or invoice number when making payment over the phone or via a BACS transfer.

Please note that invoices must be paid within fourteen days of being raised, or you could incur a 25% late fee.

For more information please see our Football Services Guide to Red & Yellow Cards.

 

If disciplinary cases are not acknowledged or paid within the required time frames, clubs can incur a 25% late fee.  This must be paid within fourteen days, and the original case acknowledged/paid, or the player and club could face further suspensions.

If you believe that a late fee has been issued in error, please contact the County office immediately. You will be asked to complete a form documenting why you believe an error has been made. The County FA will then determine whether there has been an error in the fee being raised and act accordingly.

If you only become aware of the late fee as a sine die suspension is about to commence, we recommend you pay the full amount immediately and contact the County FA to request a refund, should an error have been made.

Clubs should be aware of which players receive cautions or standard charges, and aware of the cost of these offences. Therefore non-receipt of notifications is not an excuse for non-payment.

For more information please see our Football Services Guide to Red & Yellow Cards.

Suspensions

Suspensions for red cards/accumulation of yellow cards automatically start seven days after the offence.  The length of a suspension depends on the nature of the offence.  

Grassroots football discipline is divided into match-based categories depending on the level of football:

Saturday • Sunday • Midweek • Representative • Veterans • School • Friendly

Suspensions for red cards must be served in the category in which they were received. When the player misses the relevant number of games for the team he was carded for, the suspension is served.

Suspensions for misconduct cases are from all football and may be match-based or day-based. When the player misses the relevant number of games for the team he received the charge for - or misses the required number of days - the suspension is served.

For more information please see our Football Services Guide to Red & Yellow Cards.

At the end of a season, any outstanding match-based suspension is automatically carried through to the beginning of the following season. They are therefore eligible to play in pre-season friendlies and the suspension re-starts when the team the suspension was picked up for play their first qualifying fixture of the new season. Day-based suspensions continue throughout the off-season.

If a player moves to a new day of football and is suspended for a red card, they are eligible to continue playing on the new day of football.

Where a player moves to a new club at the same level of football, playing on the same day, the suspension is transferred to the new club and the County FA need to be informed of the change.

Where a youth player moves within youth football to a new age group, playing on the same day, the suspension is transferred to the new age group.

If a player moves from non-Step football to Step Football (and vice versa), or to a new day of the week, there is no impact on red card suspensions. For misconduct suspensions there are two options:

1. The FA can approve for the suspension to move to the new level of football.
2. The suspension is served based on matches the previous club play. For a match-based misconduct suspension, this means that the player is eligible to play for their new team until such time as the team they were reported for start their season, at which point the suspension is applied to all football.  

For more information please see our Football Services Guides to Red & Yellow Cards and Suspensions

Suspensions will only be removed from the Whole Game System when the relevant games have been entered against the suspension by the Club. Suspension matches can be added via the “Matches” tab off the main Club dashboard on the Whole Game System

You will need to confirm the date, opposition, League and which team was home/away. The match will then be assigned against any eligible suspension for players on that team. If you are adding a League or County Cup match against a suspension, you may need to email this information to the Football Services Team so we can add the suspension match.  

Any complaints about the conduct of opposition players/officials/spectators should be submitted on the Berks & Bucks FA Incident Report Form and emailed to Support@Berks-BucksFA.com