Discipline, Complaints & Appeals

In BC Soccer’s on-going effort to provide appropriate and relevant information to the membership and wider soccer community, based on Rule 9.i. (below), BC Soccer is providing the below list of organizations and adult individuals that have recently received a sanction from the BC Soccer Association.

Rule 9 - Judicial Matters

1. i) BC Soccer and member organizations may publicly post discipline decisions and sanctions imposed on organizations and adult Registrants or other adults under the jurisdiction of BC Soccer.  

Please note: the below list only reflects those currently under a suspension of 6 months or greater with appropriate information associated to each.  This is not designed to be an exhaustive list of all historical sanctions, however does include sanctions applied by a member association within their local jurisdiction, as provided to BC Soccer.

Sanctions applied by Member Organizations are filed and recorded by each individual member and subjected to request from BC Soccer. 

If your member association / league wants to learn more about the BC Soccer Discipline System and/or would like to start using, please contact: info@itpsport.ca

BC Soccer further adopts sanctions and provisional measures listed in the Canadian Safe Sport Program (CSSP) Public Registry. 

Q1. What is ITP Sport?

ITP Sport is Canada’s first full service and programming Safe Sport agency. With a combined 20 years of experience and unparalleled expertise, we are leading the charge in the Safe Sport movement. We have curated Canada’s top professionals in the space of safeguarding, communications, legal, and operations.  With every expertise, and all angles of change considered, ITP offers an organization a custom offering of services and consultation to ensure participants are kept as safe as possible, and organizations remain strong, consistent, and proud in their commitment to Safe Sport.

Q2. Why is BC Soccer bringing an outside organization to manage discipline and complaints?

BC Soccer is seeking to provide a more efficient and effective mechanism to receive, triage and resolve complaints. Ultimately, the goal is for participants to feel safe in reporting and going through the process. An outside organization also provides a higher level of independence that ensures transparency, total removal of conflict of interest, and expertise in managing this important aspect of association activity. From a capacity and resource standpoint, ITP Sport will be able to provide enhanced customer service with reporting channels operating 24/7.

Q3. Does ITP Sport replace the Judicial Chair and the Appeals Chair of BC Soccer?

No, ITP Sport’s role is to support the functions of the Judicial and Appeals Chair of BC Soccer, working in collaboration to conduct proper triage, investigation of cases and discipline matters received by BC Soccer.

Q4. What type of complaints will be received by ITP Sport?

ITP Sport will receive, review and manage complaints under the jurisdiction of BC Soccer, in accordance with BC Soccer’s Judicial Code. This includes:

• Any form of excessive physical assault
• Language and/or profanity directed at a Match Official
• Attempted abuse of a Match Official
• Intimidating and/or threatening behavior
• Misconduct involving racist or sexist comments
• Complaints or inquiries referred to it by another Provincial Association
• Misconduct by an Association Official within Members or Affiliated Organizations (even if participating in another capacity)
• Misconduct at BC Soccer’s Provincial or Regional Competitions
• Any other matter directly related to BC Soccer which the Judicial Chair of BC Soccer, in their sole, discretion chooses to handle

Example 1:  A misconduct by a player while playing at an Adult Provincial Championships.

Q5. What type of complaints will NOT be received by ITP Sport?

All discipline matters and complaints that fall outside the jurisdiction of BC Soccer will be dealt with by the Member or Affiliated Organization in whose jurisdiction the alleged offence took place. The Member or Affiliated Organizations will ensure that their disciplinary procedures, Rules and Regulations and Sanctions are consistent with those of BC Soccer. 

Example 2: A discipline matter, involving two players from the same league and that does not meet the threshold outlined in question Q4, will be dealt by the league in which the incident took place.

Q6. I need to report a situation that falls outside the jurisdiction of BC Soccer. Who should I contact?

Situations that fall outside of the jurisdiction of BC Soccer should be reported to the local club, league or member organization. The club, league or Member Organization in reviewing the complaint can determine if the complaint should be referred to BC Soccer.

To submit a complaint, please use our Independent, confidential, and anonymous reporting system. 

As a member association of Canada Soccer, BC Soccer is required to comply with the bylaws, rules, regulations and formal directives of Canada Soccer. As it relates to Judicial matters, BC Soccer is required to appoint independent Judicial Bodies. BC Soccer implements this independence which also means that all BC Soccer Board and Staff Members, including BC Soccer's President and Executive Director, have no involvement or influence on judicial decision-making.

Discipline Chair: Dave Jones

Appeals Chair: Dan Turvill

The Judicial Chair of BC Soccer holds the jurisdiction for discipline over all of its member organizations. The main areas in which BC Soccer administers discipline directly are:

• BC Soccer Provincial Championships and Regional Qualifying Competitions
• Club/District/League Administrators and Executives
• Egregious Offenses
• Referee Abuse
• Abuse Against Youth by an Adult
• Matters that are referred to BC Soccer for any number of reasons

Jurisdiction - Full Member Organization (Youth Districts & Adult Leagues):

Full Member Organizations of BC Soccer (Youth Districts and Adult Leagues) are empowered to handle any/all matters that relate to individuals and clubs that are registered within in them, unless specifically specified in BC Soccer’s Discipline Policy. For example, a player registered with a club under the jurisdiction of that Youth District. hat district or league that is ejected from a game, would be handled locally.

Exceptions:

• If the person being brought to discipline is a District or league Administrator/Executive. This should be referred directly to BC Soccer.
• Where the Youth Districts involved have given Jurisdiction to the Inter District League in which they participate.

Affiliated Soccer Organizations in general are empowered to handle any/all matters that are completely internal to the club itself. For example, teams and/or players that are not following the organization's Code of Conduct.

Exceptions to this would be if the person being brought to Discipline is a Club Administrator/Executive. This should be referred to their direct governing body to avoid any clear conflict of interest.

Youth Leagues have two main discipline functions.

1. To uphold discipline decisions imposed by the districts and by BC Soccer.
2. To administer discipline when the districts/clubs participating in the league have empowered them to do so.