SAASL Dispute Process or lack of!

[leftback101]

Just interested in peoples thoughts on the process for clubs to appeal suspensions handed down by the SAASL??? I have recently heard that clubs appealing lengthy suspensions were told by SAASL that no appeal hearings will be held for the remainder of the season due to resource constraints. Don’t know peoples thoughts but to me this seems very unprofessional????

[ontheblackburner]

How many weeks did you get?

[Steve#4]

Don’t know peoples thoughts but to me this seems very unprofessional????

Amateur even.....

[Jay Walking]

How many weeks did you get?

[ExtraTime]

Just interested in peoples thoughts on the process for clubs to appeal suspensions handed down by the SAASL??? I have recently heard that clubs appealing lengthy suspensions were told by SAASL that no appeal hearings will be held for the remainder of the season due to resource constraints. Don’t know peoples thoughts but to me this seems very unprofessional????

tell us what happend?????

[Jay Walking]

Just interested in peoples thoughts on the process for clubs to appeal suspensions handed down by the SAASL??? I have recently heard that clubs appealing lengthy suspensions were told by SAASL that no appeal hearings will be held for the remainder of the season due to resource constraints. Don’t know peoples thoughts but to me this seems very unprofessional????

Did they maybe say pointless appeals would not be heard? Appeals are still occurring so you may need to be more specific as to the offence and the SAASL's response.

[leftback101]

A player from our club was charged for striking (as per the referee's report), when in actual fact no punches were thrown by either player, given a 3 week ban, had evidence from the oppostion club's coach confirming "no punches" however the SAASL refused to hear the case, stating that they were low on resources etc etc...... pretty average if you ask me!

[ExtraTime]

how many weeks ago was this????

[Off The Ball]

My comment is based purely on my experience with their process.

No thought was given to natural justice and only the referee's report was considered in their final position on the incident - match abandoned and not to be replayed.

Plenty of independent witnesses were available, but they weren't interested. And as for the referee, although I do not enjoy giving them "negative press" the referee was largely the cause for the incident itself by not controlling the game and allowing it to get out of hand.

I would've expected that referees should be open to penalties and codes of conduct as is everyone else involved in the league.

[BANYA]

My comment is based purely on my experience with their process.

No thought was given to natural justice and only the referee's report was considered in their final position on the incident - match abandoned and not to be replayed.

Plenty of independent witnesses were available, but they weren't interested. And as for the referee, although I do not enjoy giving them "negative press" the referee was largely the cause for the incident itself by not controlling the game and allowing it to get out of hand.

I would've expected that referees should be open to penalties and codes of conduct as is everyone else involved in the league.

Wrong.... Players control themselves, not referees... If your players need controlling they should be playing for mobilong or at a creche....

[ExtraTime]

My comment is based purely on my experience with their process.

No thought was given to natural justice and only the referee's report was considered in their final position on the incident - match abandoned and not to be replayed.

Plenty of independent witnesses were available, but they weren't interested. And as for the referee, although I do not enjoy giving them "negative press" the referee was largely the cause for the incident itself by not controlling the game and allowing it to get out of hand.

I would've expected that referees should be open to penalties and codes of conduct as is everyone else involved in the league.

so its the ref's fault that a player all

[gone]

My comment is based purely on my experience with their process.

No thought was given to natural justice and only the referee's report was considered in their final position on the incident - match abandoned and not to be replayed.

Plenty of independent witnesses were available, but they weren't interested. And as for the referee, although I do not enjoy giving them "negative press" the referee was largely the cause for the incident itself by not controlling the game and allowing it to get out of hand.

I would've expected that referees should be open to penalties and codes of conduct as is everyone else involved in the league.

In a season where the press has been all over violence at SAASL matches, you want to try & get your bloke a reduced sentence on a technicality? You don't say there wasn't a fight, you don't say what he did, just no punches. As soon as you blamed the ref you lost me completely.

[aussiepride]

A player from our club was charged for striking (as per the referee's report), when in actual fact no punches were thrown by either player, given a 3 week ban, had evidence from the oppostion club's coach confirming "no punches" however the SAASL refused to hear the case, stating that they were low on resources etc etc...... pretty average if you ask me!

I got 4 weeks last year, got shown a direct red for punching a player. I was on the other side of the field. was not involved. I told the ref he had the wrong person! Other team couldnt even believe it. On top of that the guy who did it confessed! i still got 2 games!!!!

[leftback101]

it was 2 weeks ago and we appealed as soon as we received notification of the suspension...so in essence my point is......why advertise the fact you have an appeals process when essenitally
1. you will be extremely lucky to get a hearing (dependant on SAASL resources)
2. and even if the Ref got it wrong and you have evidence to prove otherwise the macth
report will be the source of truth

"Guilty Until proven Innocent" but we won't give you a chance to prove your innocence! if this was applied in the US Judicial System the "Lethal Injection" would be running riot!

[Off The Ball]

IMO, the referee has the duty to ensure players play by the rules.

If he or she chooses to ignore this duty, then they are part of the problem - not just the players.

In the situation that I was involved with, a melee ocurred and players are responsible for that. But, we all know the referee has the capacity to control a game before these things happen and should do so.

If a player clearly shows intent during the match to pick a fight with his opposition, it should be dealt with before something much larger happens.

[leftback101]

OJ's Glove not fitting was a "Technicality"....

it was a push and shove at best.... we were happy for our player to be sent off and cop a 1 match ban! but 3 for striking and no right of appeal is a bit excessive

[Off The Ball]

My comment is based purely on my experience with their process.

No thought was given to natural justice and only the referee's report was considered in their final position on the incident - match abandoned and not to be replayed.

Plenty of independent witnesses were available, but they weren't interested. And as for the referee, although I do not enjoy giving them "negative press" the referee was largely the cause for the incident itself by not controlling the game and allowing it to get out of hand.

I would've expected that referees should be open to penalties and codes of conduct as is everyone else involved in the league.

In a season where the press has been all over violence at SAASL matches, you want to try & get your bloke a reduced sentence on a technicality? You don't say there wasn't a fight, you don't say what he did, just no punches. As soon as you blamed the ref you lost me completely.

No one received any cards and no one was sentenced to a week off even though the referee saw the opposition player run at our bloke and king hit him! Game abounded after 70 minutes and no replay.

[Off The Ball]

My comment is based purely on my experience with their process.

No thought was given to natural justice and only the referee's report was considered in their final position on the incident - match abandoned and not to be replayed.

Plenty of independent witnesses were available, but they weren't interested. And as for the referee, although I do not enjoy giving them "negative press" the referee was largely the cause for the incident itself by not controlling the game and allowing it to get out of hand.

I would've expected that referees should be open to penalties and codes of conduct as is everyone else involved in the league.

Wrong.... Players control themselves, not referees... If your players need controlling they should be playing for mobilong or at a creche....

Wrong. It was the opposition that couldnt control their players. My point is that a ref can see when a player is reckless and has the power to stamp it out. Do u disagree still?

[You Too]

Every club should shout it from the roof tops - "violence is not acceptable behaviour at our club".

Seriously folks, this is starting to sound a lot like the "Randoms" did it.


Surely not!!!!!!!

[HFC]

Unfortunately, saasl will always side with the referees report, regardless how bias it is! They need the refs more than the refs need the saasl - especially due to the lack of refs available. If they over rule their report they would lose their respect (if it exists). Unfortunately there are not enough refs left that use common sense approach too many now try to over officiate (or under officiate) and lose control - you ant always blame the players!

[gone]

Unfortunately, saasl will always side with the referees report, regardless how bias it is! They need the refs more than the refs need the saasl - especially due to the lack of refs available. If they over rule their report they would lose their respect (if it exists). Unfortunately there are not enough refs left that use common sense approach too many now try to over officiate (or under officiate) and lose control - you ant always blame the players!

Who are you, Goldilocks? This referee blows his whistle too much. That referee blows his whistle too little. And if we find the referee who blows his whistle just right & we're losing the game we'll call a neutral bear in out of the woods & start a fight.

[HFC]

No red riding hood - My point was simply put THERE ARE NOT TOO MANY GOOD REFS LEFT! Over/under officiating contribute to the on field problems. I am in no way condoning violence and definitely not suggesting the refs are solely to blame. They are a contributing factor to the on field problems also!

[Dickie Knee]

Farce would be the appropriate word. Complete lack of natural justice. Complete kangaroo court. 'Speaka the rite langwaj' and you're fine.

Surely there is a lawyer somewhere out there in SAASL land (maybe one that drives a taxi?) that could volunteer to assist the SAASL in building a credible process.

[robinfriday10]

especially due to the lack of refs available.

B team refs in div 1 and 2. 2 assistant refs at div 3 games

[Azzurri80]

I in no way condone any type of physical violence or verbal threats made to referees, and I think referees have every right to red card a player who is guilty of such actions.

In saying that (the big BUT!), I think some referees get way to excited (or sensitive) a lot of the time, and I think they should take a moment to look at the overall picture before reacting on impulse. By overall picture I mean, this is a passionate game we play and none of us like to lose. So ref's should expect that players (and supporters) are not going to agree, or be happy about calls being made against them. So if a player gets pulled up for a foul and says 'that's bullshit' or 'you got to be joking', as long as it goes no further, I think ref's should understand the players frustration at that moment and refrain from giving him a card for dissent. I think the ref has a right to tell the player to settle, but I think over reacting in cases like this can draw increasing hostility towards the refs from players and supporters. I think if the refs were a little more lenient in these cases they would find that most players will have their little spit and soon get on with the game and move on.

I also think the league has a major case to answer to in how they support and manage their refs. If a referee is the victim of a violent verbal or physical attack, as their employer, doesn't the league have a legal and moral duty of care to ensure that ref gets the proper psychological care before he or she is allowed to officiate another game? I know of one example where a ref, coming back from being physically assaulted in a previous match, officiated a game and all hell broke lose. You could tell that he wasn't in the right frame of mind and obviously I don't blame him, but from the moment the game got a little heated he looked to have become overwhelmed which led to inconsistent calls and many bookings including some cards going to the wrong players. This obviously led to the game getting out of hand and he lost all control of the match. Later when the innocent players who were incorrectly booked wanted to dispute their cards, they were told by the league that they have no rights because the ref put it down in his report. This was even after the guilty players stepped forward to claim the cards so their innocent team mates wouldn't be unfairly punished.

Personally I think this ref was suffering from PTSD and understandably so, but I wonder if the league had conducted any tests to make sure this ref was fit enough to return after what he had been through. Personally I think not, and the result was unfair to the clubs involved and also unfair for the ref who was obviously put under a lot of stress so soon after the trauma he went through.

I think the league needs to be very careful in regards to these matters and I hope they have all their bases covered because sooner or later a club or referee may challenge them in regards to a fair right of appeal, or in the ref's case OH&S issues. That's my 30 cents.

[Nice One Cyril]

I don't see how the refs can win.

If the refs adhere strictly to the LOTG and send someone off for a dangerous tackle, do the player's teammates and coach support the ref? Do they fuck, they get in the ref's face and bitch and moan like wh0res about how unfair it was.

If the refs are a bit less strict when someone does the same to them, they're waving imaginary red cards and wanting to start a fight and blaming the ref for loss of control.

End of, the players make decisions to tackle, the players make the decision to argue, the players make the decision to start swinging. Sadly it seems most coaches support their own and nobody is to blame apart from the opposition and the ref.

It's bollocks, in 10 years time there won't be any refs wanting to do it if we carry on.

[gone]

Refs are self employed and those who have a duty of care to them are the clubs involved in that game. Psychological testing of refs between amateur league games? It's being introduced next season along with goal line technology.

[Steve#4]

No red riding hood - My point was simply put THERE ARE NOT TOO MANY GOOD REFS LEFT! Over/under officiating contribute to the on field problems. I am in no way condoning violence and definitely not suggesting the refs are solely to blame. They are a contributing factor to the on field problems also!

I agree.....After all we are playing for massive amounts of money, 12 sheep stations, Title for Champions of the Universe and The World Cup.

Dammit don't these stupid Refs realise how important these games are....

[Ciudad Juarez]

I don't see how the refs can win.

If the refs adhere strictly to the LOTG and send someone off for a dangerous tackle, do the player's teammates and coach support the ref? Do they shiraz, they get in the ref's face and bitch and moan like wh0res about how unfair it was.

If the refs are a bit less strict when someone does the same to them, they're waving imaginary red cards and wanting to start a fight and blaming the ref for loss of control.

End of, the players make decisions to tackle, the players make the decision to argue, the players make the decision to start swinging. Sadly it seems most coaches support their own and nobody is to blame apart from the opposition and the ref.

It's bollocks, in 10 years time there won't be any refs wanting to do it if we carry on.

but we are talking about very important games whose results have a massive impact on our daily lives.

this isnt just a kick in the park with your mates on a sunday afternoon NOC!

[Ciudad Juarez]

I don't see how the refs can win.

If the refs adhere strictly to the LOTG and send someone off for a dangerous tackle, do the player's teammates and coach support the ref? Do they shiraz, they get in the ref's face and bitch and moan like wh0res about how unfair it was.

If the refs are a bit less strict when someone does the same to them, they're waving imaginary red cards and wanting to start a fight and blaming the ref for loss of control.

End of, the players make decisions to tackle, the players make the decision to argue, the players make the decision to start swinging. Sadly it seems most coaches support their own and nobody is to blame apart from the opposition and the ref.

It's bollocks, in 10 years time there won't be any refs wanting to do it if we carry on.

but we are talking about very important games whose results have a massive impact on our daily lives.

this isnt just a kick in the park with your mates on a sunday afternoon NOC!

missed steves comment above mine