AFL Rule 33

If a member of the Executive Committee has any doubt as to the qualification of a player taking part in any match, he must make the complaint in writing within 48 hours after the playing the match, Saturday, Sunday and Bank Holidays accepted. The Executive Committee shall call upon such a player, or the club for which he played, to prove that he is qualified according to the Rules. Failing satisfactory proof, the Executive Committee may deduct points from the offending club. No points shall be awarded to the opposing club unless a registered protest has been lodged to the registered home address of the League Honorary Secretary and the opposition and upheld. The member questioning the qualification must give his reason for so doing.

Extract from the minutes of the 15th August 2005 Management Meeting held in the Oscar Traynor Sports Centre.

"It was explained that when the League commences and a team withdraws the fixture record is expunged, which drastically alters the League table and the number of matches".

The role of the AFL Executive:

The Executive Committee has a duty of care to the membership of the League.

The League arranges fixtures and appoints referees to referee matches.

The Referee has a duty of care to the League and to the clubs he is allocated to referee by the League and make decisions. We hope the referee makes more right decisions than wrong decisions; however he must make a decision.

Those decisions are made in the opinion of the referee and are and must not be negotiable.

The referee has an absolute responsibility to report to the League Executive Committee any yellow or red cards issued in the match.

He is required to write an incident report on a separate report form.

The Executive committee has to record all reported cards on a special club register.

Each club is required to have a disciplinary hearing to deal with Red Cards and have a report for the Executive hearing on the Thursday following the match.

The Executive at the hearing will ask the club and the player the reasons why the player was sent off.

Then the referees report is read to the meeting and the executive make a decision based on the balance of probabilities, not civil proof.

The Executive then write up their decision and the club is given a copy of the decision.

The Executive is made up of voluntary officials, all of whom have previous club experience.

The Executive then require the officers of the club to see that the spirit of the sanction is complied with.

Should members of the Executive receive verbal reports of alleged wrongdoings the member and the Executive have a responsibility to investigate in the interests of preserving the good name of the Amateur Football League.

We finish by advising team managers that no comment should be made to or about the referee after the match. Referees fees should be in an envelope before the match to be given to the referee by the person responsible for filling in the match card in case the referee may require clarification on a name given or written on the card.

For and on behalf of the Amateur Football League, Noel Kennelly Hon. Secretary. 18th September 2006