All our In2Touch leagues are played with a social, inclusive atmosphere at their heart. Knowing how every player can have a bad night, we have different levels of tolerance towards an abusive attitude towards players and referees, so here you can read our Conduct and No abuse Policy when playing at an In2Touch League.
Conduct Towards Referees
A subject we address every year and something we really would like to ask you to try and help everyone improve is the conduct towards referees.
Referees are there to ensure that you have as enjoyable experience as possible at our leagues. We need you and your team to ensure a great atmosphere on the field by treating the referee the way you as a player would like to be treated.
Referees, much like players, do not always get things 100% correct all the time, but they do try their best to ensure that the right calls are made from what they have seen.
The referees are there to try and keep all players safe, to be fair and impartial and to aid in everyone having a fantastic In2Touch experience.
We do not condone on backchat or continually questioning the referee calls during the match. This doesn’t help anyone, nor assist in creating a good atmosphere. Being repeatedly asked about decisions undoubtedly leads to more mistakes being made, which is not in the best interest of anyone. From now on we ask that ONLY captains address the Ref while playing. This will be reminded to you at the start of the game and you as team captains are responsible for reminding your teammates of this.
Foul play and abuse of In2Touch officials will not be tolerated under any circumstances. It is incumbent on all players to observe the rules of the competition and not indulge in any behaviour that would be unruly or unsportsmanlike. In2Touch, management and referees reserve the right to eject anyone from the competition should they be seen indulging in such behaviour with no right of recourse or reimbursement of any monies paid.
Due to unfortunate continued issues with some teams, we are now implementing a card system in an attempt to address misconduct towards players and In2Touch officials at our leagues.
Misconduct includes, but is not limited to: excessive or aggressive contact at the point of touch, verbal abuse, foul play or any other conduct the referee deems as misconduct. This decision is at the sole discretion of the referee.
Yellow card: The referee will send the offending player off for a period of at least 2 minutes. The player may come back onto the field of play at the referee’s discretion and after at least 2 minutes and only if they have calmed down (i.e. they are not aggressive or passing comments from the sideline). The Yellow Card sanction thereafter applies to the whole team.
Red card: Upon further misconduct by anyone in the team, the referee has the right to red card a player from that team. The team loses that player for the rest of the game and the player needs to leave the grounds.
Please understand that there are different levels of referees, from level 5, the highest qualified level in Europe, to level 1 and unqualified current/past players who may have recently decided to pick up the whistle wanting to give back to the game.
If referees suffer abuse, especially newer referees, they often just simply stop refereeing and this detrimentally affects our ability to provide a referee for your match.
Whilst they have the support from the In2Touch staff and the qualified referees to learn from, every referee is different and will make mistakes from time to time.
We want players and referees to enjoy the game as much as possible, however, if you have an issue with any calls or decisions during a match, please address them to the venue manager at halftime or after your game.
You may even take it up to the In2Touch Office by emailing london@in2touch.com and we can also look into things for you.
New Teams and Players:
We do our best to match teams up to a similar level, however due to the nature of league play it is not an exact science, nor always 100% possible.
Therefore, you need to play the game in the right spirit of a fun and friendly manner it is designed for as well as assist newer players/teams learn the game. Remember that we were all beginners at one point in time!
It’s human nature to want to win, and more so in some than others. However, any untoward behaviour toward another player, a referee or organiser is unacceptable and will not be tolerated.
We want to think that everyone can come together and enjoy their weekly game of Touch with their teams and friends in the best possible social atmosphere and we really hope that you will help us ensure this when your team plays next.
If you need a Touch rugby rules refresher, you can click here.
If you want to check the referee rules, you can click here.
If you want to read our Terms and Conditions, you can click here.
Please don’t hesitate to contact the office on london@in2touch with any queries.