practical guide for the execution of reports

LEGAL CONSULTANCY
PRACTICAL GUIDE FOR THE
EXECUTION OF REPORTS
L E G A L
1.1.
C O N S U L T A N C Y
What does the legal consultancy service
involve within the Virtual Classroom
Platform?
Despite that legal aspects deal with rules and regulations, it
is not aimed at Rules’ advice, since there exists another
area for that. Rather it is aimed at advice on report writing
and rules that have to do with them.
1.2.
Why is a report important?
Because it is the one and only means for the competent
body in charge of purging responsibilities and imposing
sanctions, as the Competition Committee, to get to know
the events occurred on the playing court and do justice.
1.3.
What is a report?
It is the account of events occurred during a game that are
relevant for the Spanish basketball Federation (SBF) in an
administrative way.
This report, by definition, must be mainly objective and neutral. The referee must be a mere transcriber of the nature of
the events, describing them as they happened. He must
take advantage of his condition of privileged witness, provided with authority, exerting it, and must only put into words
what happened on the court.
In order to write this objective account of events, he must
make use of assertions which prove its certainty, instead of
expressions like “it is possible, maybe…” which denote
uncertainty. The report must only show those events which
are certain and can be proved and that the officials are completely sure of. It is also essential to use neutral terms,
which do not entail personal opinions or qualifications, as
this matter corresponds to another board, such as the
Competition Committee.
1.4.
Who must deliver the report?
It must be delivered by the referee, although it can be done
by the scorer if he agrees with the referee’s polite request. If
not, he is within his rights because it is one of the referee´s
duties (art. 46.10) and not the scorer’s. The truth is that the
scorer usually volunteers to write it and therefore we must
be polite and appreciate it.
It is advisable to make a first draft with the aspects to talk
about and even a detailed writing, since there is no possibility to correct it once written on the scoresheet, except with
an inkblot, which dislikes everyone.
Next, if the referee’s draft handwriting is legible, it is written
on the scoresheet by the scorer. If not, the referee must read
it for the scorer to write it.
“REPO RTS GAT HER ALL T HE
IN FORM ATIO N RE LATE D TO O FFIC IATING
IN A G AME O BJEC TIVE LY” .
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1.5.
L E G A L
C O N S U L T A N C Y
Where and when must it be delivered?
It must be delivered in the changing room with all the officials present, just in case it is necessary they must give
details. In case there have been incidents and these happen at the end of the game, it is advisable to calm down
upon entering the changing room. The officials should not
shout since that only creates more stress to the others
and can be heard by players or coaches and might be
used against us.
The referee must generate calm, let some seconds or
minutes elapse and recapitulate about the events, asking
each of the members of the official team in case he needs
some data, because he has not seen something, and thus
making sure they are clearly described.
1.6.
How must the report be written?
It must be in capital letters and written in a clear and simple way, but exhaustive at the same time, including all the
elements that can be of some use for the Competition
Committee to develop its function in the most proper way.
Therefore, the report must be clearly written, putting the
different aspects in order, with short, simple sentences
but making use of technical terms. It is not easy.
When there are several points to deal with, it is advisable
to start with the administrative aspects: identification with
passports or official documents, authorizations… and
then the incidents, if present, in a chronological order.
Quotations marks must be used to express literal words.
If the report is so long that the scoresheet is not enough,
a white paper must be used to continue the report, signing
both sheets.
At the end of the report, a formal expression is written:
“what I state for the appropriate effects”. Finally, the referee’s name, number and signature.
1.7.
What is susceptible of
being reported?
As we have said in the definition of a report, it is account
of events occurred during a game that are relevant for SBF
in an administrative way, this is, events which are classified in the situations described in the rules and regulations and which can lead to consequences for the clubs,
players, coaches, officials and other members of basketball.
Therefore, it is necessary that the official knows those
regulations, even the Law of Sport, all of which confer the
official a number of powers and duties of great responsibility. This is why the official must be aware of the importance ok mastering them, as they are part of his role as an
official, according to art. 62 of the General and
Competition Regulations: “to know the rules of the game
and the regulations”. Moreover, the officials cannot justify
themselves for failing to fulfil their duties claiming ignorance, since art. 6 of the Civil Law states that “ignoring the
laws does not relieve from their fulfilment”.
We have to take into account other rules from other
Boards, such as the Autonomous Federations, which are
part of the pyramidal structure which conform basketball.
These Federations also have legislative power and their
instructions concerning reports may differ from the SBF.
Therefore, it is necessary to behave according to the respective competences of the competition we are officiating,
whether national or regional, applying the correct regulations.
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L E G A L
C O N S U L T A N C Y
In case the clubs deliver appeal reports during the days
after the game:
These reports will deal with any aspect of the officiating that
they consider to have been harmed by. Normally we know
about them by a phone call from the Competition
Committee and we have to answer within 72 hours.
This report addresses all the officiating team, including
table officials. Each member of the team must give a personal answer saying what each of them knows about the
events. In case somebody had not seen them, he must say
so.
Each of them must answer to the events he had been involved in, with his point of view of the events as they happened.
In relation to the content, the report is usually divided in different sections, each of which must be answered, even if
the answer is that you do not know it because you did not
see it.
Obviously, it must be typed with a heading similar to the club’s one, stating the date, place and identification. It will be
faxed to the SBF.
The appeal report must be answered with technical language as far as possible. And I volunteer for this aspect: if you
have any problem to deal with the report, I can help you: you
send it to me, I have a look at it and will try to help you to
approach to it.
Some guidelines try to clarify specific situations that can
generate doubts, as the Interpretations of the Rules, which
can solve some problems related with reports.
Each of the Competition Regulations have a special importance, as they can bring in differences in one specific
aspect, depending on the level, i.e. balls for each competition.
1.8.
Steps to be followed after delivering
the report
According to the General and Competitions Regulations,
the referee must deliver a copy of the scoresheet, with the
relevant reports, to the SBF within 24 hours after the end of
the game, in person or via fax, as well as the original scoresheet in due time and proper course.
1.9.
General guidelines.
A report must not be written in the following cases:
- A coach is disqualified for two technical fouls.
- A player is disqualified for having committed two
unsportmanlike fouls.
If any player without a licence hands an authorization for
more than one date, that authorization shall only be attached to the scoresheet when the last date is played.
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