ATTENDING THE TRIBUNAL

 INTRODUCTION
Attending the Tribunal is an important role which many umpires find difficult and stressful. These guidelines have been prepared to help all GFUL umpires in carrying out their role at the Tribunal in a professional way and to make any appearance at the Tribunal as pain-free as possible.

The guidelines are an extension of the reporting procedures contained in the GFUL Umpires Handbook. They have been prepared describing a ‘collision’ report such as striking or charging, but also apply to non-collision reports such as abusive language or misconduct by a player or official.

WHAT IS THE TRIBUNAL?
The Tribunal is an independent body appointed by the local Football Leagues to hear and adjudicate on reports laid by GFUL umpires. The Tribunal may also hear charges laid by an Investigation Officer concerning any incident in local football matches where no report has been laid by an officiating umpire. (Note: If a player is charged following an investigation, GFUL umpires are not required to attend the tribunal unless they are called as witnesses).

Football Tribunals do not operate like a court of law but they must adhere to specific guidelines and procedures set out by the Victorian Country Football League (VCFL) and any local rules adopted by Football Geelong or the Geelong & District Football League. These guidelines and procedures are very similar to those that operate in the AFL but there are some differences; eg. local players may be offered a mandatory 1 week penalty without a Tribunal hearing (see below).

Football Geelong and the Geelong & District Football League have separate Tribunals which operate independently of each other. The Football Geelong Tribunal hears reports laid in the Geelong Football League, the Bellarine Football League and the Geelong Junior Football League. The GDFL Tribunal only hears reports laid in GDFL matches.

WHERE ARE TRIBUNAL HEARINGS HELD?
The Football Geelong Tribunal meets in the GFUL umpires rooms on Monday night, usually commencing at 7.00 pm. The Tribunal uses the room opposite the main GFUL office and players and umpires wait outside in the main meeting area.

The GDFL Tribunal meets at Buckley’s Entertainment Centre in Fellmongers Road, Breakwater on Monday night, usually commencing at 7.00 pm. Umpires should go to the Raiders Bingo entrance at the southern end of Buckley’s (ie the entrance furtherest away from Fellmongers Road) and go upstairs at the first door on the right where there is a waiting area outside the Tribunal room).

Umpires should be punctual and arrive at the time which the GFUL Tribunal Co-ordinator has indicated. Being late is unprofessional and will not be regarded sympathetically by the Tribunal.

WHO ATTENDS TRIBUNAL HEARINGS?
The Tribunal is made up of three people (a chairman and two members) who have had some involvement with local football in the past (eg as former players, umpires or officials). Their job is to listen to all the evidence and decide whether the umpire’s report should be sustained or not.

The Tribunal is assisted by a Secretary who makes sure all the participants and paperwork for the hearing are in place.

The umpire, the reported player and the player offended against (eg the ‘victim’ who has been involved in the incident) are also required to attend, together with their advocates. Witnesses may be called by the reported player, the offended against player or the umpire, but in most cases this does not happen.

The umpire’s advocate is an experienced umpire who is familiar with the Tribunal procedures. The umpire’s advocate helps and supports the reporting umpire before and during the Tribunal hearing. (The 2007 Umpire’s Advocate Roster is included at the end of these guidelines).

WHAT HAPPENS IF THE UMPIRE CAN’T ATTEND THE TRIBUNAL?
The reporting umpire is required to attend the hearing to give first-hand evidence in support of his report. The umpire gives an account of the incident which lead to the report and why the player has been reported. The umpire is also required to answer questions from Tribunal members and advocates.

In exceptional circumstances (eg due to work commitments) the reporting umpire may not be required to attend the Tribunal. Instead, he must submit a full written statement – not a statutory declaration – by the Sunday evening prior to the Tribunal hearing. The format for this written statement is the same as the format for the umpire’s evidence  at the Tribunal (see below). The umpire’s statement must be given to the GFUL Tribunal Co-ordinator no later than Sunday evening.

DOES AN UMPIRE HAVE TO ATTEND THE TRIBUNAL IF THE REPORTED PLAYER ACCEPTS THE MANDATORY PENALTY?
The standard VCFL report form used by all local leagues allows a reporting umpire to offer the reported player a set penalty of one match. The umpire can only offer the set penalty for offences specified on the report form (eg. striking another person, engaging in time wasting, wrestling another person etc).
NOTE: the GFUL Director of Umpiring has directed that if a player has been struck to the head, the reporting umpire must not offer the reported player the set penalty of one match and the report must be heard by the Tribunal.

If the reported player accepts the set penalty and there are no objections from the League or the opposition club, the umpire is not required to attend the Tribunal – the player is automatically suspended without a Tribunal hearing.

In certain circumstances the Tribunal may still decide to hear a report even though the umpire has offered the reported player a set penalty and the player has accepted this offer. For example, if the reported player has been suspended in the current or preceding season, the player cannot accept the set penalty until offered by the League Secretary. Alternatively, the offended against player’s club may object to the leniency of the one week suspension and insist that the report be heard by the Tribunal.

It is important that umpires who have reported a player and offered him a set penalty still notify the GFUL Tribunal Co-ordinator about the report. The Tribunal Co-ordinator will be aware of the report and can notify the umpire whether the report will be heard by the Tribunal or not.

WHAT DOES AN UMPIRE WEAR TO THE TRIBUNAL?
Umpires are representing themselves and the GFUL when attending the Tribunal, so they should look neat and well presented to maintain a professional and positive image. Senior umpires (field, boundary and goal) should appear in clothes similar to what they wear to games on the weekend. Other umpires should wear neat casual dress, but no T-shirts or runners.

WHAT PROCEDURES DOES THE TRIBUNAL FOLLOW?
There are three basic parts to any Tribunal hearing:

1. Introduction: The Tribunal Secretary introduces all the Tribunal members and the participants (umpire, players and their advocates). The Tribunal chairman then reads out the umpire’s report and asks whether there are any objections or amendments to the report or objections to any Tribunal member hearing the report.

At this point, the umpire may amend the report (eg correct any minor factual error such as the wrong player’s club or the quarter in which the incident occurred or, in unusual circumstances, may change the charge; eg from ‘striking’ to ‘charging’. A report will only be amended by an umpire after discussion with the umpire’s advocate before the Tribunal hearing and only where it is necessary in order to proceed with the report.

The Tribunal chairman then confirms the identity of the players and then asks the offended against player to leave the room so that he doesn’t hear the umpire’s evidence.

2. Evidence: The Tribunal chairman asks the reported player how he pleads to the charge (eg. ‘guilty’, ‘guilty under provocation’, ‘not guilty’). The umpire then gives his statement about the incident and why he has made the report.

Tribunal members may ask questions to clarify specific points while the umpire is giving his statement. At the end of this, the Tribunal members usually go back over the umpire’s statement in detail and ask questions which are designed to help the Tribunal to get a clear idea of the incident from the umpire’s perspective. The umpire is then asked questions by his advocate and then the reported player’s advocate and then the offended against player’s advocate.

The reported player’s advocate is trying to have the charge dismissed against his player and usually attempts to ‘pick holes’ in the umpire’s statement and answers to questions. The umpire needs to be ready for this by ensuring that he has prepared properly for the hearing (see below) and gives his statement in a full and consistent way (see below). The umpire’s advocate will object to the Tribunal if the reported player’s advocate’s questioning of the umpire becomes too aggressive or out-of-line.

Once the umpire has finished giving evidence, the offended against player comes back into the room and gives his account of the incident. The same questioning process by Tribunal members and advocates then takes place with this player.

Then the reported player gives his statement of the incident and is also questioned by Tribunal members and advocates.

Finally, the umpire’s advocate and then the reported player’s advocate sum up on behalf of the umpire and reported player respectively. The purpose of the summary if for the advocates to identify the key aspects of the report and to highlight the strengths and weaknesses of the case put by the umpire and the reported player.

3. Deliberation and Decision: All parties leave the room while the Tribunal deliberates on its decision. An audio tape is made of Tribunal hearings and the Tribunal may go back over the tape to review parts of the evidence put before it during the hearing. Usually, the Tribunal takes 5-10 minutes to reach a decision and the parties then return to the hearing room. The Tribunal chairman announces the decision and sometimes gives some explanation for why it has come to that decision (but this is not essential).

If the reported player has been found guilty, his advocate then makes a submission on his behalf. This includes how long he has been playing football, whether he has been reported in the past, his involvement with the club etc. All parties then leave the room while the Tribunal decides on a penalty. At this stage it is recommended that the umpire leaves the Tribunal hearing because he is no longer required. This avoids any difficulties where a reported player has received a lengthy suspension and may wish to blame the umpire for his predicament. The umpire’s advocate will notify the umpire of the player’s suspension later than night at home or during the week at training.

If the reported player has been found not guilty, the Tribunal chairman thanks all parties and declares the case closed. On hearing a ‘not guilty’ verdict, every reporting umpire feels some sense of disappointment or frustration, and may wonder whether reporting players is worth the time and effort. This is a natural reaction but umpires should act in a professional way and try not to show their disappointment. By reporting a player and attending the Tribunal, the umpire has done his job. What happens beyond that is entirely in the hands of the Tribunal. Even if a player has been found not guilty, the fact that he has been reported and made to appear before a Tribunal may serve as a timely warning to players who wish to go outside the rules from time to time.

The umpire’s advocate will speak briefly with the umpire after the hearing but will usually wait a day or two to ‘let the dust settle’ before discussing the hearing in more detail. The advocate will give any feedback to the umpire during the week and make any suggestions on how the Tribunal appearance could be improved.

HOW DOES AN UMPIRE PREPARE FOR THE TRIBUNAL HEARING?
An umpire starts preparing for the Tribunal hearing from the moment he decides to report a player.

Any reportable incident sets in motion a train of events which the umpire must take note of and be able to include in his statement to the Tribunal. This is difficult because at the same time the umpire may have to take control of ‘hot’ situation or, in the case of boundary or goal umpires, continue to carry out their umpiring duties because the game hasn’t stopped.

Some of the important things the reporting umpire must immediately take note of are:
· What happened immediately after the incident – did opposition players remonstrate with the offending player; what affect did the incident have on the offended against player (eg was there bleeding, did the player leave the field assisted or unassisted; if so, did he return); what did both players say when informed of the report
· Where and when did the incident occur
· What was the lead-up to the incident (this is often difficult to remember)

At the half-time break or end of the match, the umpire should make some brief notes on the incident, including the points covered in the preceding paragraph. It is advisable to check with other umpires who did not make the report to clarify any details which are not clear. Often a trailing field umpire or a boundary or goal umpire will have a better recollection of where the incident occurred or whether the offended against player returned to the ground, etc.
Note: If more than one umpire has made the same report these umpires should not discuss the report in detail because they may be accused of collusion at the Tribunal hearing.

No later than the day after the match (ie Saturday night or Sunday), the umpire should start his detailed preparation for the Tribunal. This may take the form of a written summary of the report or, if the umpire is confident in giving his statement to the Tribunal without written notes, a mental review of the incident and rehearsal of the proposed statement to the Tribunal. Such a detailed preparation is extremely important because it enables the umpire to anticipate questions from the Tribunal and the players’ advocates, and helps to make the umpire more confident in how he will perform at the Tribunal.

Umpires may take any written notes into the Tribunal and use them in presenting their statement to the hearing.

WHAT IS THE BEST WAY TO GIVE AN UMPIRE’S STATEMENT AT THE TRIBUNAL?
It is recommended that a logical structure along the following lines should be used in presenting the umpire’s statement:

1. Start with the ‘bigger picture’. The Tribunal members know where the game was played and when, but also need to know which team was kicking to which end and where the incident occurred on the ground (eg. ‘the 50 metre line in front of the scoreboard’ or ‘near the home team’s dugout’, etc).

2. Describe the actual incident in detail especially how far you were from the incident, where was the ball at the time and what actually happened (eg ‘player Smith struck player Brown with a right clenched fist to the left side of the head,). It is not necessary to go into a lot of detail here because the Tribunal members and advocates will want to ask specific questions later.

3. Describe what happened immediately after the incident, as per the section above. An umpire helps his case when he can tell the Tribunal what happened after the reportable incident. Umpires let themselves down when their recollection of these events is limited or non-existent.

Tribunal rooms have a whiteboard or something similar and an umpire may wish to use the whiteboard to show where players or the umpire were positioned at the time of the incident.

When answering questions from Tribunal members or advocates, the umpire should listen carefully to the question and answer the question as put. The umpire should be positive, forthright and honest – say exactly what you saw or heard in response to questions. If a question requires a ‘Yes’ or ‘No’ answer, it is okay to give this answer as long as it is not seen to be rude or ‘hard to get on with’.

It not advisable to give long answers to questions because this may be repeating the same point or going on a tangent onto something completely irrelevant. The umpire should avoid vague or uncertain answers such as “might have been’, “maybe” or “perhaps”. If the umpire is not certain about his evidence, the Tribunal has no option but to give the reported player the benefit of the doubt and dismiss the charge.

It is best if the umpire’s statement to the Tribunal and answers to questions are

CLEAR,  CONCISE,  CONSISTENT, CONFIDENT AND CALM