Little League Football Officers' Manual

19 CONDUCT

Refer to

The behaviour of players is directly influenced by those responsible for them. Thus all Committee Members must set a high personal example of conduct and self-discipline both on and off the field of play.
All Committee members should also ensure that parents / supporters / players conduct themselves in a proper fashion. It is recommended that players and their parents sign their agreement to the attached 'Code of Conduct' following selection.

Registered Referees are obliged by the Football Association to report to their County any caution or dismissal from the field of play. It is common that the County will refer the offence back to the National Executive of Little League Football who will, in turn, request the League to implement their own disciplinary procedure.

• A Disciplinary Committee.
• Rules governing the disciplinary procedure - which should be minuted.

The National Executive Committee has no central disciplinary procedure but can offer advice.

Players
Each caution will be recorded by the Referees Secretary and if a player receives

• Two yellow cards over the course of a season - one match ban
• One red card - one match ban

• Two yellow cards over the course of a season - two match touchline ban
• One red card - three match touchline ban

Match bans will apply from the following week unless the Manager or player appeals, at which point the Disciplinary Committee will meet to either ratify or revoke the decision.

The Disciplinary Committee will meet in the event of an appeal or when it deems that circumstances necessitate.

All match officials should be made aware of the Disciplinary Procedure.

PROBLEM ADULTS

On occasions, parents and managers can cause problems through an over-competitive attitude, verbal abuse or whatever. These problems needs swift attention if they are not to escalate.

The following ideas are suggested. They will need modifying according to the circumstances.

Long Term Solutions

The ideal is to build a lasting atmosphere of friendliness, sportsmanship and co-operation. All new Managers should attend an informal meeting where the Managers' duties, responsibilities, the LLF Concept and how the league operates can be explained. A "New Parents' Meeting" is useful for explaining how your League operates and to give parents the chance to ask questions. Some leagues make a feature of these evenings, presenting their kit to the players and using the opportunity to collect Individual Memberships. The Code of Conduct should be signed by all participants. See below. League newsletters could include a request to all parents to shout encouragement only from the touchlines. Free leaflets are available from the NEC and should be issued to all new Managers and parents as they join. These include the "Team Managers' Guide" and the "Parents' Guide". Local rules should be documented and issued to all new Managers so they can't say they didn't know the rules. It should always be made clear that referees’ decisions are final and will be backed by the Committee.

Short term solutions

The League Chair should speak to any manager who is getting out of hand. Managers and other Committee Members should ask any parent whose behaviour is unreasonable to behave. If the problem is widespread, Leagues could consider issuing a letter or newsletter to all parents.

What if a parent or manager does not respond?

If your best efforts to encourage an adult to behave fall on deaf ears, then it is unwise to just ignore the problem and hope it will go away. You will need to write formally to the adult to give a final warning. See example on next page. Should the letter fail to improve matters, then you will need to bar the adult (but not his or her child) from attending. If this also fails, then you must, for the good of the league as a whole, drop the child from the team.

Example letter

The letter will need amending to suit the particular circumstances.

 

Dear

It has been brought to my attention that your behaviour at recent matches is not what we expect of parents and clearly does not set an example to your son/daughter, or indeed any children playing football at..........(name League)....... You should know that Little League Football is about enjoyment and fun rather than seeking to 'win at all costs'.

I understand that you are regularly..........(specify offence)....... e.g. - challenging the manager's team selection/choice of substitutes - disputing refereeing decisions in an unacceptable manner - using inappropriate language, particularly in the vicinity of children - shouting at players from the touchline in a manner likely to distress them

I therefore feel it necessary to ask you formally to refrain from this practice and encourage your son/daughter and his/her team in a fitting manner. If you do not choose to co-operate then regrettably you will be asked not to attend matches. The ultimate sanction would be for us to ask your child to leave too, a situation which I hope you would not bring upon yourself.

Yours sincerely

 

 

N O T Happy Chair/Secretary