Why ID CARDS NEED TO BE CHECKED
This is very important -.This is why it is vital to check player ID cards and if cards are not present then the players cannot play.
Notice from Sheffield & Hallamshire County FA
To All Sanctioned Leagues, Clubs and Referees.
On Wednesday 3rd November 2010 the Chairman and Chief Executive of the County FA had to attend the Sheffield County Court for the Hearing of a claim for personal injury brought by a player against a referee.
The match in question took place in 2008 between two teams in one of our local Saturday Leagues. Both teams were affiliated to the County FA and a qualified referee of some standing was appointed by the League to officiate at the match.
Unfortunately a player from the Away Team sustained a serious knee injury from which he has not yet fully recovered. He made an application to the Benevolent Fund of the County FA and was awarded some money to help him through his period of hardship.
The Home Team played a “ringer” namely a player who was not registered with the County FA and he was the person who caused the injury to the Away opponent. As a result of the tackle the “ringer” was cautioned and he gave the referee the name of a properly registered player. The Claimant (injured player) attempted to sue the player who he believed to have caused the injury. When the Solicitors contacted the registered player regarding the claim against him he was adamant that he had not played in the match and was not the person who caused the injury. Further enquiries were made of the Home Club and eventually it was ascertained that they had played an unregistered player (the “ringer”). Allegedly they had been having difficulty in turning a team out and had been fined by the League the sum of £100-00 for an “Unfulfilled Fixture” because they would not play with a short team. If they had played that particular match with say 10 men then they would have been fined by the League the sum of £2-00 (i.e. the fine is £2-00 for each player short of 11).
Because the player in question was unregistered the Insurance Company refused to indemnify him. That left the claimant having to sue the Home player directly or find someone else to sue who may have Insurance cover.
He elected no doubt on legal advice, to sue the Referee of the match in question. Hence the Hearing at Sheffield County Court on the 3rd November 2010.
After listening to the Claimant and one of his witnesses the Judge made various comments and a “legal” discussion took place between the two Barristers and the Judge. The Claimants Barrister then requested a short adjournment and after some time returned to the Court and consented to Judgment being given for the Defendant (the Referee) with Costs. Effectively the Claimant discontinued his action and in doing so saved at least the second days costs. That is, the player who was seriously injured could not receive any money for the injury.
It is therefore imperative that every League, Club and Player is aware of the dangers of playing an unregistered player as depicted by this Judgment. If such a player takes part in a match and causes an injury or is injured himself/herself, then it is highly likely that any Insurance cover will be invalidated.
This is the same if a team or individual players play in any match not sanctioned by the County FA. These matches maybe with an organisation or league which doesn’t affiliate to the County FA. It is also vital that all friendly matches are sanctioned by the County FA so that Insurance cover will or should be effective.
Additionally, FA Rules are also very specific in stating that all matches must be sanctioned and that affiliated teams, players and referees must not play with or be involved in matches which involve unaffiliated teams, players or referees.
If you have any queries regarding the Insurance cover provided by the County FA please do not hesitate to contact Sheffield & Hallamshire County FA on 0114 2414999 between the hours of 8.30 a.m. and 4.30 p.m. or by email to info@sheffieldfa.com