Seeing Red - or Yellow
13
René Eberle, head CHAMPIONS
LEAGUE
of the UEFA
Competition
Logistics
Department, flanked
by his assistants
Peter Limacher (left)
and Yvan Comu.
The referee pulls the red card out of his
pocket and sends off the No 6. A few days
later we hear he has been suspended. The
player, the club, the fans and the media
react with anything from resignation to
indignation. But the procedure is always
the same, as UEFA tries to ensure Fair
Play in all senses of the expression.
First of all, the referee lists the yellow
and red cards on page 3 of the six-page
match report which he mails to UEFA
headquarters in Nyon, having previously
sent a copy by fax within 24 hours of the
final whistle. At the other end is Rene
Eberle, head of the Competition Logistics
Department which, during the season's,!
preliminary round, has to cope with a flood
of around 130 match reports in 48 hours.
"If there are incidents," explains Eberle,
"we prepare the documents - translated
into three official languages - to be sub
mitted to the nine-man Control
Disciplinary Committee, which is quite
independent from the rest of UEFA. They
conduct what we call an administrative
procedure, because the interested parties
are not given a hearing, though the player
can submit a written statement. If the sus
pension is for more than two matches or
the fine is more than 4,000 Swiss Francs,
there can be an appeal".
"The Board of Appeal basically adopts civil
court procedures, with all the interested
parties present. More and more players
are represented by lawyers these days
and the accused always has the last word.
The decision is final and binding and is
usually taken within 90 minutes".
The system remains unchanged this seas
on. Red cards are treated on an individual
basis, while the second and fourth yellow
card incur a one-match ban. After that,
every yellow card means a suspension.
Rene Eberle has some picturesque souve
nirs, such as the match, about 10 years
ago when Bernd Forster received a yellow
card which should have meant a suspen
sion. While the referee was looking for his
notebook, the player slipped away and
was replaced by his brother Karl-Fleinz!
Result: a three-match ban for both, redu
ced to two by the Board of Appeal, and a
defeat for VfB Stuttgart when they took the
case to the civil courts!
