Managing Discipline Fines within your Club

When the County FA charges a red or yellow card or hears a misconduct case against a Club or Player, the Club will receive a notification through the Whole Game System detailing any fine and suspension. 

The Club must acknowledge and pay all cases by the relevant deadlines or they will incur a 25% late fee. If these late fees are not paid on time, the Team and Player will be suspended until they have been paid.

In adult football, the Player and his/her Club are jointly responsible for the payment of fines to the County FA, and Clubs will need to agree how payment is made and by whom. If payment is not made, both the Club and Player will be suspended. 

In youth football, the Club is solely responsible for ensuring the fine is paid to the County FA, however Clubs may still choose to seek internal repayment from the Player’s parents. If payment is not made the Club will be suspended; however, the Player will still be able to play for other Clubs.

Clubs are strongly urged to acknowledge cases and make payment as quickly as possible to avoid incurring late fees and suspensions. The Club can then seek repayment from the Player internally as needed.

Clubs should adopt a robust policy if they wish to claim money back from players for disciplinary offences on a case by case basis. This should include formal invoices for payment and withholding playing time from the Player if they fail to make payment. 

Clubs should also be aware of the potential for additional misconduct charges for accumulation of discipline offences over the course of the season, and adopt an appropriate policy for payment. We have provided a guide to accumulation of offences and four potential strategies which can be downloaded below. 

If a Player fails to make payment after several weeks, Clubs should consider taking action under The FA’s Debt Recovery programme.

Recommended timeline for recovering disciplinary fines

More Information

If you need any further support on this topic, please contact us via the Support Hub.

For more information about managing a grassroots football Club, please visit www.Berks-BucksFA.com. Alternatively, find us on socials @berksandbucksfa for the latest news and updates.