29th Olympic Games, Beijing, China
Appeal Jury
Applicant: Sukhwinder Singh (Canada)
Appeal Jury : Annabel Dillon, President
Pam Tye, Member
Jean-Claude LeClef, Member
The Appeal Jury convened a hearing at 7.00 pm on the 18 August 2008 in accordance with articles 17 and 18 of the FIH Tournament Regulations of the 29th Olympic Games.
The notice of appeal on behalf of Field Hockey Canada is dated 18 August 2008.
In relation to article 18.2 of the Tournament Regulations, the appeal is against the penalty and thereby against the decision of the Technical Delegate (TD) issued on 18 August 2008 whereby Sukhwinder Singh is suspended for two matches to be played by Canada on 19 August 2008 and either the 21 or 22 August 2008.
The TD determined that during the match Great Britain v Canada played on 17 August 2008 Singh was in breach of the FIH Code of Conduct in particular clause 2(a):
“verbal/physical abuse or hostility towards any other participant, person or any other member of the public”.
Singh attended accompanied by:
Ajay Dube, Team Leader, Field Hockey Canada
Louis Mendoza, Coach, Field Hockey Canada
Sophie Kominck, Legal Representative, Field Hockey Canada
Cheryl Taunton, High Performance Director, Field Hockey Canada
Jurisdiction of the Appeal Jury
The Appeal Jury notes articles 17 and 18 of the Tournament Regulations in particular article 18.6:
“The appeal shall not be by way of re-hearing of the evidence. It shall be limited to a review of the decision of the Technical Delegate to ensure compliance with the Guidelines and principles of natural justice.”
Further, the Appeal Jury notes and draws the attention of the applicant to article 18.10 of the Tournament Regulations:
“The decision of the Appeal Jury shall be final and binding on all parties concerned subject to Regulation 3.5 hereto and to Article 18.2 of the FIH Statutes.”
With regard to articles 18.7 and 18.8 of the Tournament Regulations, the Appeal Jury accepted as fresh evidence the reference to Decision of the Technical Delegate in respect of a hearing of breach of the Code of Conduct by Tibor Weissenborn issued on 11 August. The Appeal Jury accepted that this evidence had not been presented to the earlier decision maker because it only became relevant after the Decision of the TD had been notified.
Discussion
The Jury reviewed the Decision of the TD as notified by him.
The Jury considered the case presented in the written and oral submissions by Field Hockey Canada.
The Jury noted that the TD concluded in his Decision that “there was no deliberate intent to strike the opponent”.
The TD further concluded that the action was reckless and amounted to a Level 2 offence as described in Appendix III to the FIH Tournament Regulations. However, the Appeal Jury was of the opinion that Singh’s action constituted a Level 1 offence of “inappropriate … physical contact between players in the course of play”.
Decision
On the basis of the foregoing, the Appeal Jury rules that:
1 the appeal is partly upheld
2 Singh’s action amounted to a Level 1 offence as described in the FIH Tournament Regulations (Appendix III)
3 the penalty is decreased to a suspension of one match
4 Singh is suspended for the match to be played by Canada at the 29th Olympics on 19 August 2008
5 there is no order as to costs
6 the deposit shall be refunded.
Annabel Dillon, President, FIH Appeal Jury
Beijing, 18 August 2008
