Suspension: OC Women's Futsal-Wheller |
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Commissioner's Rulings
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2017-18 SeasonApril 30, 2018
Olds College has submitted a formal appeal of the ruling below, providing video evidence to suggest that its athlete, Ms. Wheeler, did not commit the offence in question, in which it was alleged that she intentionally denied a goal scoring opportunity by committing a hand ball. I have had a chance to review the video footage of the incident. The video very clearly shows that Ms. Wheeler did not commit a hand ball offence. In fact, the ball struck her face, making no contact whatsoever with her hands. Unfortunately, the referee did not have a clear view of the play and mistakenly issued a red card for a hand ball. Under the circumstances, I am exercising my discretion to revise the original ruling as it would be a waste of valuable Conference time and resources to constitute a formal Appeal panel for what would result in an automatic reversal of my ruling. In essence, based on the unique facts of this case, I consider this particular situation akin to a request for supplemental ruling based on video evidence as per Article III Section 5 Rule 1.2 of the ACAC Operating Code. Based on the above, my original ruling is reversed. Ms. Wheeler suspension is cancelled. We have spoken with David O’Neill, the Alberta Soccer Association’s Referee Development Officer, who has advised that the FIFA Laws of the Game prevent an official from revoking a red card once play has resumed. Therefore, although the ACAC has no power to cancel the card at the Alberta Soccer Association level, for the purposes of any potential future ACAC disciplinary actions involving Ms. Wheeler, we will not take this red card into account. Sincerely, ACAC Commissioner
March 18, 2018
On March 11, 2018 OC Women’s Soccer player Wheeler (#9) received a red card for denying a goal scoring opportunity, which results in an automatic one (1) game suspension pursuant to Rule 5.3.1.2. As the offence occurred during OC’s last game of the season, Ms. Wheeler’s suspension shall be served during the first regular season game of the 2018‐19 ACAC Futsal season. Sincerely, ACAC Commissioner
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