Cheltenham League Meetings

CHELTENHAM ASSOCIATION FOOTBALL LEAGUE

Minutes of the Management Committee Meeting held at the Victory Club, Cheltenham, on Wednesday, 5th December 2007.

Attendees: J Crowther, R Attwood, N Oram,, A.Stiley, P Tustain, J Hunt, A Clayton, B Hill, M.Lytheer, T Onions, R.Overington

Apologies: G Cook, L Fisher

Minutes of the meeting held on Wednesday, 31st October 2007 were read and accepted.

Matters Arising from the minutes.

The General Secretary informed the meeting that an email had been received from FC Barometrics in appeal against the decisions taken by the Management Committee, at the meeting of October 31st, in respect to the transfer of Neil Organ from Southside to FC Barometrics. When originally considering this matter at this meeting, the Management Committee concluded that there had been a number of irregularities in relation to this transfer and that, as a result, Neil Organ had been declared an ineligible player for the match with C & G, in which he had played on Saturday, October 13th, 2007. As a consequence, the match was declared null and void and ordered to be replayed at a later date. In their appeal, FC Barometrics contested that they conducted themselves in an open and honest manner in relation to this issue and that they not only pointed out the situation to C & G before the match, on October 13th, but were also told, by C & G FC officials, that they had no objection to the player taking part in the game. FC Barometrics also contested that the early kick-off time for this match, and the fact that it had been rearranged to be an FC Barometrics home match at late notice, meant that the club had found it difficult to comply with the exact requirements of the League Rule governing transfers between clubs.

Following consideration of this matter, it was unanimously decided that the appeal should fail and that the appeal deposit should be forfeit. It was also decided to subject some inconsistencies, between the appeal submission and details entered on the transfer form, to further investigation.

The General Secretary informed the meeting that there had been significant correspondence between the League and Smiths Athletic with regard to the issue of the Official Referee's Result Card that had been submitted by the club for the home Division Three match with Tivoli Rovers on Saturday, 20th October. This card had not been completed by the Match Referee on the day in question. The meeting was informed that it had been decided to accept Smiths Athletics' explanation of the events that resulted in the incorrect submission of this card and that, as a consequence, the club had not been required to attend this meeting. It was explained that this matter would be covered further under Correspondence.

The meeting was also informed that, following communications between the League and the Officially Appointed Referee for the Division One match between Northway and Shipton Oliffe on Saturday, 22nd September, 2007, it had been decided that there was no need to require Northway to attend this meeting either. This was ratified.

The General Secretary informed the meeting that, as a result of issues that were raised during the course of the appeal by Whaddon United that was heard at the meeting of October 31st, a system of suspension notification had now been put into place. For the benefit of the committee, the General Secretary read the text of one of the three suspension notices that were now being used for suspensions under rules 5(i), 11(c) & 13(j). It was unanimously agreed that the League should continue to use these notifications to inform clubs of the fact that they have been suspended from the League

Correspondence & Referees Reports:

Correspondence Reported for Discussion

Email from Smiths Athletic explaining the circumstances in which the club came to submit an Official Match Referee's Result Card to the League that had neither been completed, nor signed, by the Match Referee.
Reply sent to Smiths Athletic, pointing out the fact that, as the club still had not submitted an Official Referee's Result card to the League for the match in question, the club was suspended from the League
Further Email from Smiths Athletic confirming that a properly completed Official Referee's Report Card had been submitted to the League Result Secretary
It was noted that this matter had been brought to a satisfactory conclusion and the decision not to require Smiths Athletic to attend the meeting was ratified unanimously.
Email from Prestbury Rovers, expressing concern over the stand taken by the League with regard to club email addresses and asking the League to reconsider the use of Club Email addresses for official correspondence with the League
Reply sent explaining the reason for the League taking the stance that it had.
The General Secretary informed the meeting that he had been provided with the details of a personal email address for the person who was deputising for the Secretary of Prestbury Rovers whilst he was absent, during the course of the last week of November and the first week of December.

Before the committee considered the following matter, Messrs Attwood, Hunt and Hill were required to temporarily take their leave of the meeting.
Email from Kings AFC, complete with an attachment in which the club explains the reasons for the low mark for Sportsmanship given to Cheltenham Saracens following the Division Four match between the two clubs on Saturday, 3rd November, 2007.
The committee considered the submission provided by Kings and noted that numerous of the matters mentioned were within the jurisdiction of the GFA, whilst others issues had resulted in Cheltenham Saracens being reported for rule violations that would be dealt with under the Rule Offences Agenda item. This being the case, it was not felt necessary to enter into any further action at this juncture.
Messrs Attwood, Hunt and Hill then rejoined the meeting.
Email from Apperley, giving the reasons for the Division Three match with Tivoli Rovers being abandoned after 20 minutes. A player was injured to the extent that he required the attention of an ambulance and, once he was removed from the pitch, the referee felt that there was insufficient time to complete the match. The score at the time of the abandonment was 1-0 to Tivoli Rovers.
This was noted by the Committee and it was unanimously agreed that the match should be replayed in its entirety on a date later in the season
Email from Tewkesbury Dynamos expressing their concern over the manner in which their Division Five game away to FC Electrics was refereed, by an FC Electrics volunteer, and the behaviour displayed by the FC Electrics team during the course of the match
It was noted that this was the third report of a similar nature received with regard to FC Electrics' Division Five side and, as a consequence, the General Secretary was asked to notify FC Electrics that the club would be required to attend the next meeting of the Management Committee, on January 9th, 2008, to facilitate the further consideration of this matter.
Email from Smiths Athletic, in response to an email from the League that attempted to bring to a conclusion the issue relating to the Official Referee's Result Card that Smiths Athletic submitted without involving the referee, giving the club's opinion that the matter would have been resolved sooner had the League contacted the club by telephone to obtain an explanation for the situation.
This was noted.
Email from Smiths Athletic expressing the clubs exasperation at the failure of the Officially Appointed Referee to turn up to the Club's Division Four fixture with Brockworth Albion on Saturday, 17th November, 2007. The club asks whether or not any sanctions are taken against registered referees in such instances and whether the League or the Referee intend to apologise to Smiths Athletic for the inconvenience caused
Reply sent expressing the sentiment that the League shared Smiths Athletic's disappointment at this scenario and assuring the club that the matter would be looked into
In response to the submission from Smiths Athletic, Mr Arthur Stiley, the League's Referees Secretary, explained the circumstances relevant to the two incidents as he understood them. Consequent to this, it was decided to take no further action in these instances, although the General Secretary was asked to reply to Smiths Athletic and advise the club of the provisions of League Rule 10(d)
Email from Cheltenham Borough Council bringing the attention of the League to the fact that problems are still being experienced at weekends with pavilions being left open and showers being left on. The email details 5 separate incidents that have occurred since representatives of the Council attended the League's Clubs meeting in October to ask for greater co-operation and vigilance with regard to the use of these facilities
Email sent to clubs that use Borough Council pitches to point out the seriousness of this situation and the fact that the Council is considering introducing surcharges on clubs who do not close down facilities properly after use.
Following consideration of this matter, it was unanimously agreed to support the Borough Council in whatever action that they felt was appropriate to attempt to alleviate this situation and the General Secretary was asked to communicate this support to the Borough Council.
Letter from Northway confirming that it is their intention to play their home matches at Tewkesbury School for the foreseeable future.
It was noted that there had been numerous significant problems associated with Northway home matches recently, both with regard to referees not being informed of the location of the match and, also, to matches being called off at short notice due to problems with facilities. Having taken each of these reported instances into account, it was decided that Northway should be required to attend the next meeting of the Management Committee, which was to be held on Wednesday, 9th January, 2008 in order to appraise the committee of their on going problems with their home venue and to detail their plans for alleviating those problems. It was also decided that Northway should not be permitted to play another home fixture in advance of this meeting. It was noted that this decision meant that the prospective home game against Moreton Rangers in Division One on Saturday, 22nd December, 2007, would now become Moreton Rangers home game and that the scheduled home match against Endsleigh on Saturday, January 5th, 2008 would be cancelled. The General Secretary was also asked to ascertain the nature of the agreement that existed between Tewkesbury School and Northway FC and it was resolved that a decision on whether or not to charge Northway with failing to fulfil a fixture on Saturday, 1st December, 2007 would be delayed until this information was available.
Email from Chris Tomkins asking for the League's permission to film at a Cheltenham League match on Saturday, 8th December for the benefit of a film being made by students at the University of Gloucestershire, the subject of which is "Football Fans".
It was unanimously agreed that there was no objection to this request so long as both clubs involved gave their explicit approval in advance of the match and it was decided to recommend that the match in question should be Winchcombe Town Reserves v Whaddon United Reserves in the Junior Charity Cup on Saturday, 8th December, 2007.

Correspondence Notified to the Meeting but not discussed

Email from AC Olympia informing the League that the new home telephone number for their secretary is 01242 677828
Email from Bishops Cleeve informing the League that the score of the club's Division One match with Andoversford Nomads on Saturday, 10th November, was being displayed incorrectly on Full-Time. The club point out that the correct score was 4-1 to Bishops Cleeve and not 1-1 as suggested by Full-Time
Two further emails redirected to the League by Full-Time, pointing out the same error.
Score checked with League Results Secretary and amended on Full-Time in accordance with the details entered on the Official Referee's Result Card
Email from Tewkesbury Town, informing the League that the score of their Division Five match against Cheltenham Civil Service on Monday, 10th September was recorded incorrectly on Full-Time. Tewkesbury Town point out that the result of the match was a 4-0 win for Tewkesbury Town and not 1-0, as indicated on Full-Time
Following confirmation from the League Results Secretary that the Official Referee's Report Card recorded a 4-0 win to Tewkesbury Town, the details on Full-Time were amended accordingly.
Email from Prestbury Rovers Club Email account, informing the League that the Club Secretary would be absent until December 6th and referring to an attachment, which did not arrive with the email, containing the contact address of the person standing in for the club secretary during this time
Reply sent indicating the fact that the attachment had not arrived and asking for the email to be re-sent from the Secretary's personal email account
Email from C & G registering the club's interest in a Club Referee's Course and informing the League that the club may want to send two delegates should the course be run.
Email from Andoversford Nomads informing the League that the email address for their secretary is now to be HendyPhilhendy@hotmail.com
Email from Falcons explaining the reasons behind the club's decision to postpone the Division Five fixture against Southside on Saturday, November 17th, 2007
Email from Phoenix United informing the League that the email address for the club secretary has now changed to geoffrey.e.west@btinternet.com
Letter from the GFA issuing a reminder about Metal Cup Hooks on goalposts and pointing out that no referees who are not registered with the GFA should be appointed to matches by the League.
Email from Dean Carbin enquiring about the process for entering a new team in the League for the 2008-09 season
Email from Tewkesbury Dynamos confirming that the Minor Charity Cup match with C & G on Saturday, 8th December, 2007 will be played at Tewkesbury School

Referees Reports reported for discussion

Before considering the referee's reports that had been received during the course of November, the committee was provided with a report detailing the number of Referee Report Cards that had been returned so far this season. This report indicated that approximately 60% of matches played with Official Referees had cards returned and that 20 of the League's referees had returned a card for every game at which they had officiated.

Elmbridge Old Boys v Tewkesbury Rovers, Div 4, Sat 03/11/07: Referee I Parsons reports at length that the Tewkesbury Rovers players were guilty, en masse, of dissent throughout the game and that they moaned about almost every decision, even when it was awarded to them.
This was noted, as was the fact that Tewkesbury Rovers were regularly fielding numerous players with Southern League experience, in direct contravention to the information provided to the League by the club at their interview in May. It was agreed to continue to monitor the situation.
Woodmancote v Endsleigh, Div 1, Sat 10/11/07: Referee M Lytheer reports that the goals at Woodmancote playing fields had fixed metal net fastenings.
Email sent to Woodmancote, informing the club that Woodmancote Playing Fields would not be accepted as an authorised venue for Cheltenham League matches until the metal net fixings had been removed.
It was confirmed by Mr Arthur Stiley, the Referee's Secretary, that Referee M Jefferies had confirmed that the metal fixings had been removed prior to Woodmancote's next home match. This matter was, therefore, considered to be closed.
Apperley v Tivoli Rovers, Div 3, Sat 10/11/07: Referee J Marston reports that this match was abandoned after 20 minutes when an injury, which required an ambulance to be called, was sustained by an Apperley player. Mr Marston confirms that, once the ambulance had left, there was insufficient time to complete the match.
It was noted that this matter had already been dealt with.
Northway v Woodmancote, Div 1, Sat 17/11/07: Referee M Ball reports that he was not advised that this game was being played at Tewkesbury School and was at Ashchurch Playing Fields until 2.20 pm. He also states that he was advised by Northway that the League was well aware of their games being played at the school following the problems caused at Ashchurch Playing Fields by the floods.
It was noted that this matter had also already been dealt with earlier in the meeting.
Brockworth Albion Res v Bourton Rovers Res, Div 2, Sat 17/11/07: Referee M Jagus reports that this match kicked off late because he had not been informed that the changing rooms were at Brockworth Rugby Club and not Brockworth Sports Centre.
This was noted and it was agreed that Brockworth Albion should be reminded of the requirements of League Rule 10(d).
Tewkesbury Rovers v Smiths Athletic III, Div 4, Sat 24/11/07: Referee S Bluck reports that the pitch for this game was covered in Dog Excrement and that there were insufficient changing rooms available or the number of teams at the ground
Email sent to Tewkesbury Rovers and Tewkesbury Town asking for an explanation of this situation.
It was noted that, on occasions that members of the Management Committee had been in attendance at the Vineyards in Tewkesbury on match days, the situation in which there were insufficient changing rooms for all the teams in attendance, both to play football and rugby, seemed to prevail as the norm. It was agreed to re-examine this issue at the next meeting, once the General Secretary was in possession of the replies from both Tewkesbury Rovers and Tewkesbury Town.

Referees Reports Notified but not discussed

High Tech Rangers v Bourton Rovers Res, Div 2, Sat 27/10/07: Referee L Cole reports that both teams involved in this match, which had 7 yellow cards and 1 red card, were very unsporting.
Cheltenham Saracens IV v Kings AFC Reserves, Div 4, Sat 03/11/07: Referee W Gibbard reports that a Cheltenham Saracens player wore a shirt with the number 15 on its back when there was no number 15 listed on the teamsheet
Charlton Rovers v Northleach Town, Div 2, Sat 10/11/07: Referee D Watts reports that five Charlton Rovers players had different coloured undershorts to their team strip and that the Charlton Rovers goalkeeper was wearing a black jersey and black jogging bottoms
Email sent to Charlton Rovers pointing out the requirements of the relevant League Rules
Woodmancote United v Endsleigh, Div 1, Sat 10/11/07: Referee M Lytheer reports that the goals at Woodmancote Playing Fields have metal net fixings.
Confirmation subsequently received that metal net fixings of all descriptions are prohibited from use
Email sent to Woodmancote informing them that the net fixings at Woodmancote Playing Fields are prohibited from use and that the Referee for the Club's next home game will be instructed not to play the game unless the situation has been rectified before the kick off.
Falcons v Gloucester Elmleaze, Div 3, Sat 10/11/07: Referee M Ball reports that this was a very enjoyable game between two teams who enjoyed playing football
Smiths Athletic Reserves v Phoenix United, Div 3, Sat 10/11/07: Referee M Jagus reports that this match kicked off 6 minutes late because Phoenix United arrived in shirts of the same colour as Smiths Athletic Reserves.
Gala Wilton III v Charlton Kings, Div 4, Sat 17/11/07: Referee E Baker reports that this game was played in a good spirit and was enjoyable to referee
Charlton Rovers III v Sherborne Harriers, Div 5, Sat 17/11/07: Referee M Sutherland reports that this was a good, clean game
Churchdown Panthers v Finlay Rovers Res, Div 4, Sat 24/11/07: Referee I Parsons reports that this game kicked off 20 minutes late due to Finlay Rovers Reserves late arrival.
Kings Reserves v Bredon III, Div 4, Sat 24/11/07: Referee S Wain reports that the Bredon coach had to be removed from the vicinity of the pitch for foul & abusive language.

Rule Offences:

The following clubs have been charged in accordance with rule 5h: Failure to satisfactorily attend to the business of the League.

i) Failure to contact Results Secretary with match result (first report) - Fine £15: 03/11/2007 - County Cup Northleach Town; 10/11/2007 - Div 3 Smiths Athletic, Tewkesbury Town; 01/12/2007 - County Cup St Marks Community Association, Div 1 Northway (failure to report details of a postponement), Div 3 Falcons
ii) Failure to contact Results Secretary with match result (second report) - Fine £20:10/11/2007 - Div 2 Bourton Rovers. (previously fined £15); 17/11/2007 Div 3 Tewkesbury Town;
iii) Failure to contact Results Secretary with match result (third report) - Fine £25: 01/12/2007 - County Cup Tewkesbury Town;

The following clubs have been charged in accordance with rule 5i: Late Payment of Invoices. Fine £15:

i) Invoices due 22/11/2007: Northleach Town (invoice 41a, £25.50, club suspended on 22/11/2007, invoice paid & suspension lifted 26/11/2007); Gaffers AFC (invoice 45a, £10, club suspended on 22/11/2007, invoice paid & suspension lifted 26/11/2007)

The following clubs have been charged in accordance with rule 9(a) - failure to provide a change kit when required or delaying kick-off - fine £5: 10/11/2007 - Div 3 Phoenix United

The following clubs have been charged in accordance with rule 10b:

i). Late Kick-offs (home team). 17/11/2007 - Div 2 Brockworth Albion (6 minutes late - fine £7.50); 24/11/2007 - Kings (30 minutes late - fine £12).
ii). Late Kick-offs (away team). 10/11/2007 - Div 3 Phoenix United (6 minutes late - fine £5), 24/11/2007 - Div 2 Brockworth Albion (10 minutes later - fine £5), Div 4 Finlay Rovers (20 minutes late - fine £8)
iii). Players wearing stress pants of a different colour to the team shorts. Fine £5 per player reported: 10/11/2007 - Div 2 Charlton Rovers (5 players reported - fine £25)

The following clubs have been charged in accordance with rule 10f: Failure to fulfil a fixture:
Minimum Fine £15 and 3 points deducted: 17/11/2007 - Div 5 Falcons;

The following clubs have been charged in accordance with rule 11a - failure to complete Result cards correctly. Fine £5 for each offence
No Teams Named: 03/11/2007 - Div 5 Sherborne Harriers; 10/11/2007 - Div 5 Sherborne Harriers;
No Registration Numbers: 10/11/2007 - Div 1 Moreton Rangers
Incorrect Referees Name: 17/11/2007 - Div 5 Sherborne Harriers (no referee named when M Sutherland); 24/11/2007 - Div 3 St Marks Community Association (stated Cowan when M Jagus), Div 4 Charlton Kings (stated E Baker when no ref - E Baker assigned to another game);
No Sportsmanship Marks: 24/11/2007 - Cleevonians
Incorrect Sportsmanship Marks: 17/11/2007 - Div 4 Churchdown Panthers; 24/11/2007 - Div 5 FC Barometrics;
Incorrect Opposition: 24/11/2007 - Div 4 Charlton Kings (stated Gala Wilton when playing Elmbridge Old Boys)

It was noted that the number of clubs who continued to name Club Referees on the Match Result cards that were sent to the Registration Secretary, despite his request, issued at the Clubs meeting held on October 31st, 2007, to refrain from the practice, was causing significant confusion. It was agreed that these clubs could not be fined under current rules but that an amendment to the relevant rule would be suggested at the end of the season and that the result card would be changed to reflect this.

The following clubs have been charged in accordance with rule 11(b) - Notification of results to the Results Secretary:
Fine £5 (first offence): 10/11/2007 - Div 1 Andoversford Nomads (Incorrect score - stated 1-1 when 1-4); 24/11/2007 - Div 5 FC Barometrics (Incorrect score - stated 2-1 when 3-2);

The following clubs have been charged in accordance with rule 11c - failure to submit a result card to the registration secretary within 5 days of a match. Fine £10: 03/11/2007 - Div 1 Northway; 10/11/2007 - Div 1 Kings, Moreton Rangers, Northway; Div 4 Kings; Div 5 Sherborne Harriers; 17/11/2007 - Div 1 Cheltenham Civil Service, Div 3 St Marks Community Association, Div 4 Cheltenham Civil Service, Gaffers; Div 5 Cheltenham Civil Service, Gaffers, Sherborne Harriers.

The following clubs have been charged in accordance with rule 11(f) - Failure to provide a correctly completed teamsheet. Fine £10: 03/11/2007 - Div 4 Cheltenham Saracens (Numbered incorrectly); 10/11/2007 Div 5 Falcons(Numbered incorrectly);

The following clubs have been charged in accordance with rule 13H -failure to submit a report on a referee awarded a mark of 40 or less. Fine £5: 17/11/2007 - Div 1 Woodmancote

The following clubs have been charged in accordance with rule 13J -Submission of referees cards & teamsheets.

i. Submission of an incomplete Club Referee's Card. Fine £10: 27/10/2007 - Div 3 Gloucester Elmleaze (No score);
ii. Failure to submit Referee's Card within 5 days of the match. Fine £10: 20/10/2007 - Div 3 Smiths Athletic, Apperley; 03/11/2007 - Divison 5 Gaffers AFC; 24/11/2007 - Div 3 Falcons, Div 4 Charlton Kings
iii. Failure to submit Referee's Card within 10 days of the match. Fine £10 & club Suspended: 20/10/2007 - Div 3 Smiths Athletic (suspension now lifted), Apperley (suspension now lifted); 03/11/2007 - Divison 5 Gaffers AFC (suspension now lifted).
iv. Failure to submit Teamsheets within 5 days of the match. Fine £5 for each missing teamsheet: 03/11/2007 - Divison 5 Gaffers AFC (both sheets missing); 10/11/2007 - Div 5 Cheltenham Civil Service (both sheets missing); 24/11/2007 - Div 3 Falcons (both sheets missing), Div 4 Charlton Kings (both sheets missing).

Fixtures

Mr John Hunt reported that there were a number of fixtures to be rearranged after the recent round of cup matches but informed the meeting that he felt that all of these matches would be rescheduled before the end of the year. He also noted that many teams were well advanced in their fixture list for the season and that the number of games that had already been rearranged for cup dates, for teams that had been eliminated, had facilitated this situation. He also asked that it be permitted that games should be arranged for Saturday, December 29th, should both teams involved in any given fixture agree to the rearrangement. Mr Arthur Stiley confirmed that there would be referees available on this date so this was agreed.

Registrations

Mr Phil Tustain reported that he was in receipt of a transfer request form appertaining to Lawrence Martin, who desired a transfer from Prestbury Rovers to Charlton Rovers. It was noted that the space provided for the signature of the original club secretary had only been completed with the initials of the Prestbury Rovers secretary. Consequently, as there was some doubt as to the validity of this signature, the Registration Secretary was instructed not to proceed with the transfer.

Any Other Business:

The General Secretary reminded the meeting, and particularly those members of the Committee who would be involved, that there was to be a meeting of the Charity Cup Sub Committee on Wednesday, 12th December, 2007. Agendas for the meeting were circulated.

The General Secretary asked Committee members to communicate all suggested proposals for rule changes for next season to him by Wednesday, January 2nd, 2008 at the latest. In response to this, Mr Bob Attwood suggested that the League should require all persons registering with the League to declare the clubs with whom they were registered the previous season. He informed the meeting that this was standard practice in the Hellenic League and agreed that, if this change to working practice was felt to be beneficial, he would provide the General Secretary with a copy of the Hellenic League Registration Form. This was agreed.

Mr Mike Lytheer reported that it had been highlighted at a recent meeting of the Referees Association that Referees were not comfortable with having to use the medium of the Official Referee's Result Card to report a club for not having a First Aid Kit. It was agreed that the provision to report a club for a lack of a first aid kit would be moved to the Official Referee's Report Card.

Mr Lytheer also asked whether or not the rules governing the consumption of alcohol during League General Meetings and Clubs meetings could be relaxed. In response, it was confirmed by the chair of the meeting, Mr John Crowther, that the requirement to ban alcohol and alcoholic consumption from such meetings was an FA rule.

Mr John Crowther informed the meeting that he was due to attend a meeting of the Cheltenham Sports Council and asked all committee members to let him have details of any issues that they wanted to have raised at this meeting as soon as possible.

There being no further business, the meeting closed at 8.47 pm

NEXT MEETING - WEDNESDAY 9th JANUARY, 2008