What is really mystifying about the whole issue of this particular club report by Pt Noarlunga (apart from the massive penalty imposed

) is the fact that the SFL and the reporting club have completely ignored the procedure set out in both the SFL Constitution and the 2010 SFL Handbook !! The procedures and process to be followed are clearly set out, yet it seems that NONE of the procedures have been followed in this case ...
SFL CONSTITUTION 16.6.2 Concerning Players charged by Member ClubsThe procedure for the bringing of a charge by a Member Club against a Player for a breach of the Laws of the Game shall be:
i) The Member Club making such charge shall write such report
on its club letterhead, recording only the name of the Player (or if t he name cannot be obtained, the number of the Guernsey of such player), the details of the match during which the alleged incident occurred and the particulars of the charge. Such letter
shall be signed by both the President and Secretary of the Member Club, or in their absence, two Executive Members of the Club.
iii) The Secretary/ Manager of the League shall forward a copy of the said letter to the Member
Club of the charged player together with advice of the date and time fixed for the hearing. Such
date is to be set so that the player against whom the charge has been made shall have
at least seven (7) days notice thereof. The Secretary/ Manager shall also notify the Member Club that submitted the report of the time and date fixed for the hearing.
2010 SFL HANDBOOK12 PROTESTS AND DISPUTESAll protests or disputes arising out of any match must be made in writing to the Secretary/Manager
for reference to the Investigations Committee within four (4) days of each match and shall be accompanied by a fee of $50, such fee to be forfeited (at the discretion of the Committee) if the protest is dismissed.
All protests or disputes shall be submitted
on an official club letterhead and signed by the current Club President and Secretary , or in their absence, two (2) executive Members of the Club’s Management Committee.
The report was submitted on an "Umpires Report" form, with the word 'Umpire' crossed out . It was signed by only one person who I believe was neither the Pt Noarlunga President nor Secretary.
Given the words in the Constitution, it seems that the report was not even a valid report and the League should have rejected it. On top of that, the Handbook seems to indicate that the report should have been referred to the Investigations Committee, not the Tribunal as it was.
If the SFL Board and Secretary /Manager cannot follow the SFL rules, how can they expect clubs to ????
So it seems the new procedure is that if any person feels angry about any incident in the SFL they just need to scrawl it on any old piece of loo paper and send it in. The league will apparently refer it to the tribunal and they will take it seriously !!
ABSOLUTE JOKE
