We have today published our Annual Grassroots Disciplinary Review, providing an insight into areas of misconduct that were overseen by our Grassroots Discipline Team during the 2023-24 season.
Our Review, which covers Step 5 and below of the men’s football pyramid and Step 3 and below of the women’s football pyramid, provides a detailed breakdown of discriminatory conduct across the season, in addition to analysis concerning serious offences against a match official, assaults committed by a participant on a participant, and general misconduct.
During the 2023-24 season, there were 2,561 charges issued for allegations of serious misconduct – which was a 13 per cent increase on the previous season. There was also a 17 per cent increase in the number of charges issued for allegations of discrimination.
As part of our commitment to remove serious misconduct from our game, a key focus for us has been to help improve awareness, trust and confidence in the reporting process. As a result, and due to there being more football played year on year, we saw an increase of 17 per cent for serious case allegations and 24 per cent for allegations of discrimination. This shows that our reporting processes are working.
A key part of our work is the continued focus on addressing the most serious of cases. These include offences aggravated by reference to a protected characteristic, threats, physical contact or assaults on match officials and player on player assaults. Whilst these offences only occur in 0.1 per cent of all grassroots football annually, we know the serious impact these incidents have on those within the game.
In the 2023-24 season, we have tackled serious misconduct with record sanctions. Charges for discrimination have resulted in bans totalling 5,510 matches and over 1,300 hours of educational courses. The average ban for incidents of discrimination was seven matches, with 71 per cent of charges being proven.
Overall refereeing numbers remain strong. We have seen an increase in the total number of grassroots match officials by 20 per cent and there are now over 37,000 referees in England. There has also been record retention levels of referees in the 2023-24 season, with 80 per cent of match officials continuing to stay in refereeing.
The full Review for the 2023-24 season can be found HERE
FA Director of Football Development, James Kendall, said: “Tackling unacceptable behaviour is a key strategic priority for us, and we are determined to drive this out of our game. It’s important to have a clear understanding of the levels of serious misconduct across grassroots football, and we are encouraged that more people feel confident to report these incidents to us. Unacceptable behaviour will not be tolerated, and we have made it clear that perpetrators will face serious consequences through our tougher sanctions for both players and clubs. We all have a collective responsibility to improve the behaviour and culture in our game, and we strongly encourage all participants to continue to report incidents of misconduct so we can help to create a safe and enjoyable environment for all."
Alan Darfi, FA Senior Discipline Manager (Grassroots), said: “We are committed to publishing our grassroots disciplinary review every year to provide transparency across the game. We care deeply about the impact that unacceptable behaviour is having on grassroots football, and we have been working closely with our County FA network across the country to tackle this important issue. This includes applying tougher sanctions, celebrating positive behaviour and promoting collective responsibility to help raise the standards in our game."
Delivering a game free of discrimination forms a key part of our new four-year strategy, ‘Inspiring Positive Change Through Football’, and this season, a number of new measures have been introduced to tackle unacceptable behaviours across grassroots football.
These include new penalty points accumulations, revamped sinbins, continued league points deductions, an extended body cams pilot, and a new Grassroots Code of Conduct designed to re-enforce the positive standards of behaviour.
We have also launched the latest edition of our Enough is Enough campaign, aiming to raise awareness of discriminatory behaviour in grassroots football and the significant consequences that will face perpetrators of hate.
In addition, our new four-year equality, diversity, and inclusion strategy, ‘A Game Free From Discrimination’, sets out our long-term commitment to celebrate and promote diversity within English football by focusing on three core pillars of boosting representation, driving inclusion and tackling discrimination.
The interventions form part of the ‘Love Football. Protect The Game’ campaign to introduce enhanced measures and tougher sanctions so that everyone can enjoy the game in a positive and enjoyable environment.
