A worrying trend has been observed over recent seasons, across the whole of England Hockey, with the Red Cards (RC) and Matchday Miscount Offences (MMO) that have been reported, most of which have been for umpire abuse.
This is not acceptable, umpires should expect to be treated in a respectful manner, even if players don’t agree with their decisions. The National Disciplinary Panel has agreed to a 30-day minimum suspension for umpire abuse.
If you are umpiring, abuse is never acceptable and should be dealt with by a Red Card, during the match, or a Matchday Misconduct Offence, before or after a match. The paperwork is minimal, the same form is used for both – and help can be provided by the discipline team if required. A RC or MMO cannot be rescinded by an umpire and should always be reported to the Discipline Team and anyone requesting that it should be rescinded or not reported should be ignored. Continual requests should be reported to the Discipline team who will deal with the issue.
Umpiring should be fun, any form of abuse is unacceptable.