February 7, 2003
CIFA Disciplinary Rule Change

After much deliberation the Cayman Islands Football Association Executive Committee recently took the decision, at the January 30th Executive Committee Meeting, to amend the Disciplinary Procedures regarding red and yellow card suspensions.

The document issued by CIFA contains provisions that deal with punishments for players who are sent off by red cards, suspended by yellow card accumulations, and by other means.

The rules basically say that any suspension issued in the senior league will result in the player being suspended from ALL domestic football until his senior team has played without him for the specified number of matches.

For young players, playing in both Junior and senior competitions, this would mean that a player suspended from the senior league would also be suspended from the junior league for as long as the senior league suspension lasted.

With senior teams not always playing every week, this might result in a suspended player missing a number of junior games as well, thereby increasing the suspension beyond that which was intended.

Following discussions at a Competitions Committee meeting, various proposals were submitted to the CIFA Executive, concerning a change to the suspension procedure. The Executive, decided that the rules should be changed as follows:

Wherever, a player is suspended by red or yellow cards issued in the senior league, that suspension shall be served entirely in senior competitions. Any such suspension shall have no effect on a player's eligibility for junior league competitions.

The same will apply to suspensions issued for indiscipline within the junior leagues; any such player suspended from junior league action shall otherwise remain eligible for senior league activity.

The only proviso here is in exceptional circumstances, where the disciplinary committee or any higher committee on appeal, shall have the authority to suspend a player or official from any and all football, as the committee deems appropriate.

Clubs are therefore, urged to carefully note these changes to suspensions within the Disciplinary Rules.

A revised version of the Disciplinary Rules with the above change incorporated will be issued before the next senior football season.