Totton & Eling are the first club to receive a point deduction under the ECB Southern Premier League's strengthened disciplinary procedure.
Concerned at the rising number of disciplinary cases in recent seasons - 11 players were banned in 2021 and 17 last year – the Premier League is now hitting clubs with points penalties when players are banned (whether suspended or not)
A toughening up of the disciplinary rules was unanimously adopted by clubs at last November's league annual meeting.
The rules agreed to by clubs allow the league to invoke the deduction in either the current season, or next year depending on the timing of the charge.
A Level 1 player offence (including damaging equipment, low level dissent, excessive appealing or using obscene gestures) now attracts a one-point deduction, a Level 2 infraction two points, with the rate of deduction increasing for the more serious level 3 and level 4 offences.
Local university student Josh Taylor is the first Premier Division player to be banned this season, having been reported for abusive remarks towards an opponent in Totton & Eling's defeat by Havant last weekend.
He will sit out Totton's first all-day 'time' pennant match at Burridge next Saturday, with T & E deducted a point under the process.
League Chairman Steve Vear MBE said 'the unanimous agreement at the AGM to follow the lead of some other premier leagues to deduct points from the league table following a ban is a sad yet necessary step to ensure we continue to send the message that poor behaviour and breaches of the code of conduct is simply not acceptable.
"This, together with a change to our club charter, requiring club leaders to take pro-active steps in managing player behaviors which we will be holding them account to will hopefully help to reduce the number of issues through the 2023 and 2024 season."
Concerned at the rising number of disciplinary cases in recent seasons - 11 players were banned in 2021 and 17 last year – the Premier League is now hitting clubs with points penalties when players are banned (whether suspended or not)
A toughening up of the disciplinary rules was unanimously adopted by clubs at last November's league annual meeting.
The rules agreed to by clubs allow the league to invoke the deduction in either the current season, or next year depending on the timing of the charge.
A Level 1 player offence (including damaging equipment, low level dissent, excessive appealing or using obscene gestures) now attracts a one-point deduction, a Level 2 infraction two points, with the rate of deduction increasing for the more serious level 3 and level 4 offences.
Local university student Josh Taylor is the first Premier Division player to be banned this season, having been reported for abusive remarks towards an opponent in Totton & Eling's defeat by Havant last weekend.
He will sit out Totton's first all-day 'time' pennant match at Burridge next Saturday, with T & E deducted a point under the process.
League Chairman Steve Vear MBE said 'the unanimous agreement at the AGM to follow the lead of some other premier leagues to deduct points from the league table following a ban is a sad yet necessary step to ensure we continue to send the message that poor behaviour and breaches of the code of conduct is simply not acceptable.
"This, together with a change to our club charter, requiring club leaders to take pro-active steps in managing player behaviors which we will be holding them account to will hopefully help to reduce the number of issues through the 2023 and 2024 season."
