Berks & Bucks FA can present the final edition of our quarterly Discipline and Safeguarding infographics for the 2023/24 season highlighting work being done to track and tackle poor behaviour in the grassroots game.

The latest statistics provide an update on the number of disciplinary incidents, discrimination reports and safeguarding referrals for the period of 1 July 2023 until 30 June 2024. Over this period, approximately 50,000 grassroots matches have been completed across Berks & Bucks. 

The statistics provide some insights into on- and off-field behaviour across the grassroots game, including:

• We have again seen a rise in match-based discipline, with the number of yellow cards increasing by 14% and red cards by 16%. 

• The number of cautions for dissent and misconduct charges for abusive language towards match officials both increased by 12%. From next season, sin bins will incur a £12 fine, and carry the full weight of a standard caution, providing a further disincentive for players to abuse referees as we continue to try to tackle this problem nationally. 

• The number of misconduct charges issued by the County FA continued to grow, with almost 500 charges issued for misconduct. As a result of this increased workload, we did see an increase in the average time it took to resolve misconduct cases (from 43 to 48 days); however, we remain well within the FA deadline of 90 days from report to hearing. 

• We saw a 9% increase in the number of allegations of discrimination across the course of the season. Significantly, a much larger proportion of allegations led to further action by the County FA (either through charges or education orders against under 12s). 

• The number of allegations relating to sexuality or gender identity have dropped by almost a quarter, however sadly the number of allegations relating to race, colour, ethnicity or nationality have increased by the same proportion.

• Finally, the behaviour of adults continues to account for over three quarters of all offences in youth football, including 22 out of 58 complaints of discrimination. 

Tackling poor behaviour is a cornerstone of both the Berks & Bucks FA’s and The Football Association’s strategies for the next four years. This includes driving collective responsibility for tackling poor behaviour across the entire grassroots football community, applying tougher sanctions, and better promoting the impact of positive behaviour. To support this work we have appointed a dedicated Football Behaviour & Impact Officer who will join the organisation in August 2024 to help lead on this area. 

Click on the images below to view the full reports.