The Compliance Department of the Football Association of Wales have raised concerns over the level of reporting of racist incidents from Match Official(s). Currently Match Official(s) are advised to only report incidents of a racist nature if they are heard by any of the Match Official(s), which will not be changing. What the Compliance Department would now like to see in addition to this are any alleged incidents of racism that are not heard by a Match Official(s), but reported to a Match Official(s) by a player or club official, should be reported to the correct authority, i.e. the Football Association of Wales or the appropriate Area Association.
Please note, if you do not hear the alleged incident you cannot take any action before, during or after the match, but you can explain that the incident will be reported to the FAW or Area Association to investigate the matter.
You will need to report any cases of alleged racist incidents via a Misconduct report, but you must clearly state that "YOU DID NOT HEAR THE ALLEGED INCIDENT". Then please explain who reported the alleged incident to you, who was allegedly racially abused and who allegedly said the racist comment and/or action. If there are any other details that are relevant to the alleged incident then please include them in the report.
The reasoning behind this decision is to combat racism within Welsh football to try and identify any trends within a specific Club, League or Area. It will allow the FAW to assist companies such as Show Racism the Red Card in their education programs and target problem areas. It will also assist the Compliance Department in any investigations they need to carry out regarding any of these incidents that have allegedly occurred.
Please note this request from the Compliance Department has been authorised by the Referee's Committee for the Football Association of Wales and must be adhered to.
Should you have any queries regarding this then please do not hesitate to contact myself, or Ian Fisher in the Compliance Department at the FAW on ian.fisher@faw.co.uk or 02920 435850.
Regards
Ray Ellingham
National Referees Manager
Football Association of Wales
Office: +44(0) 2920 435863
Mobile: +44(0) 7741 310381
Email: REllingham@faw.co.uk