Incident of Serious Misconduct at KGV Pitch on 21 October 2007

Further to reports from three Yau Yee League teams and a match official, and following repeated requests for information from the management of a fourth team, the Disciplinary Sub-committee (DSC) has confirmed that a player from that team engaged in an act of serious misconduct by running naked onto the pitch during a match at KGV.

As there are no specific rules governing this type of offence, the DSC has had regard to the rules governing fighting and serious misconduct and has also had reference to the level of fine imposed for smoking at KGV when considering the appropriate sanctions for this incident.

Accordingly, the DSC has decided on the following penalties –

1. The player in question will receive a nine-match ban (effective from 11 November) for serious misconduct, which takes into account his initial lack of cooperation with the DSC’s attempts to establish his identity, and the fact that his actions could bring the League into disrepute and affect the availability of venues.

2. The team to be fined $2,000, equivalent to the fine that is imposed on a Yau Yee League team when one of their players is found to have been smoking at KGV.

3. The team to be fined a further $1,500 for not reporting the incident of misconduct and for failing to cooperate in a timely manner with the DSC’s attempts to establish the identity of the player in question.

The DSC is concerned at the failure of the management of the team in question to recognise the seriousness of this matter and to deal with this matter promptly and has decided that any further cases of failure by the team management to report promptly on any incident involving misconduct by one or more of their players will result in an automatic playing and management ban for all named Team Representatives as at 21 October 2007. The length of the ban will be subject to the DSC’s discretion, depending on the nature of the incident and the management’s response.

Wilson Hon (Hon. Secretary)