IRFU Sanctions Guideline on Match Official Abuse

One of the values of Irish Rugby is Respect – for all those involved in the rugby community, the wider community and self. In particular, show gratitude towards our volunteers and officials.

There are increasing incidents of abuse towards match officials and to tackle this challenge the IRFU are announcing a new range of sanctions which are being aligned across all four provinces.

Last September a workshop was held with the provinces and their personnel responsible for the disciplinary process. An important agenda item was match official abuse and it was clear following discussions that this remains a blight on the game itself, and impacts on the ability for match officials to be recruited and retained. All provinces reported an increase in the number of match official abuse cases, including underage level and the IRFU are committed to a zero tolerance approach for this behaviour.

It was decided that there should be alignment for the process and sanctioning procedure around match official abuse between the four provinces. This will ensure Clubs are aware of the potential sanctions and should gain an understanding of the process and wording.  A guideline document for Non-Players was compiled, and will be applied to all IRFU and provincial domestic competitions. These guidelines have been approved by the IRFU Rugby Committee and come into immediate effect.

This sees clear and transparent entry points, a list of sanctions available, examples of mitigating and aggravating features, and descriptions of different forms of suspensions all which may be applied to those persons/Clubs who are found to have a charge of misconduct or match official abuse proved against them.

Cases of misconduct or match official abuse resulting in a red card will continue to be dealt with by applying World Rugby’s Regulation 17, however these guidelines may also be referred to for other disciplinary issues not covered under player on field red card sanctions.

The Spirit Of Rugby initiative, which embodies and promotes the core values of the game – Respect, Inclusivity, Integrity, Fun and Excellence. Spirit of Rugby aims to support players, coaches, match officials, volunteers and parents and its primary purpose is to educate those within the game about their rights and responsibilities on and off the field.

We want rugby to be a game that everyone enjoys and a place where both players and non-players feel welcome and respected. We look forward to working with everyone in the rugby community to uphold our standards and live our values every day, both on and off the pitch.

The non player, Match Official Abuse sanction guidelines, can be found here.

To see the full guidelines on all IRFU disciplinary sanctions, please click here.