The RFEG Sports Disciplinary Committee acts independently of the other bodies of the same, throughout the national territory and exclusively in sports disciplinary matters.

Independence

This means that the Sports Disciplinary Committee, which is part of the various Technical Committees of the RFEG, is independent in its actions because it is governed by its own rules contained in the Federation Statutes and the rest of the state disciplinary regulations.

Scope

The RFEG Sports Disciplinary Committee can exercise its disciplinary functions throughout the national territory and over all persons who are part of its organic structure, but without forgetting that the national administrative channels function in parallel with the administrative channels that govern in the different autonomous communities.

Sports disciplinary issues

The Sports Disciplinary Committee deals exclusively with processing cases for the sanctioning of violations of general sports regulations, adhering to the principles and rules of general legislation and its own statutes or regulations. The key distinction is not to confuse the rules or regulations of the game with the sports regulations established in general sports legislation and the corresponding procedures.

COMPETENCE

The basic pillars of the competence of the RFEG Sports Disciplinary Committee are found in the Sports Law, in Royal Decree 1591/1992, of December 23, on Sports Discipline – which invests it with the capacity to apply the general sports rules, the statutory rules and the regulations of this RFEG – and in the Statutes of this National Federation.

The Sports Disciplinary Committee of the Royal Spanish Golf Federation will be aware of infractions against sports discipline that occur in golf events or competitions of interterritorial, national or international scope on all persons who are part of its own organic structure: sports clubs and their athletes, coaches and managers; judges, referees and, in general, on all those persons and entities that, being federated, develop, promote, practice or in some way intervene in the sport of Golf in Spain.

COMPOSITION

According to the federation statutes, "The Committee will be made up of a number of members that will not be less than three nor more than six, from among whom a President and a Vice-President will be designated, who will replace him in case of absence of the President."“

Each member has one vote, with the President's vote casting the deciding vote in case of a tie. Members of the Sports Disciplinary Committee are elected by free and direct vote of the General Assembly upon nomination by the RFEG Board of Directors, and their term of office is four years.

FUNCTIONS

This Committee has the authority and the obligation to act from the moment it becomes aware of a breach of a sports rule as defined in the Sports Law or in its Statutes and Regulations.

The CDD of the RFEG acquires knowledge of them through the complaint of the Competition Committees of the Clubs –the usual channel– or of any federated member, being empowered in all cases to request the information it considers necessary before ruling on any sanction.

Sports offenses are classified as very serious, serious, and minor.

Some of the common, very serious infractions are:

– Physical assaults on judges, referees, coaches, players, managers, other authorities, the public or any other person directly or indirectly related to the development of the game.

– Protests, intimidation or collective or tumultuous coercion that prevent the holding of a test or force its suspension.

– The blatant disobedience to the orders and instructions issued by judges, referees, coaches, managers and other sports authorities, with contempt for their authority.

– Acts of rebellion against the agreements of Federations, Groups, Clubs and other sports authorities.

– Acts aimed at predetermining the outcome of a test in a non-sporting manner.

– The deliberate declaration by an amateur player of a handicap other than his own, in order to obtain a certain classification different from the one that would have corresponded to him in any test and the deliberate help of any player or coach to commit such fault.

– Notorious and public acts that undermine sporting dignity or decorum, when they are of particular gravity. Likewise, repeated serious offenses of this nature will be considered a very serious offense.

– The non-execution of the resolutions of the Spanish Sports Disciplinary Committee.

– Promoting and/or inciting the use of non-regulatory doping substances or methods. This includes dispensing or administering prohibited substances, as well as assisting in the implementation of non-regulatory methods.

– The consumption and/or use of prohibited substances and pharmacological groups, as well as non-regulatory methods intended to artificially increase the physical capabilities of athletes or to modify the results of competitions.

– Refusal to submit to doping controls, in and/or out of competition, when required by the competent bodies or persons.

Some of the serious infractions are:

– Insults and offenses against judges, referees, coaches, players, managers and other sports authorities or the public.

– Failure to comply with orders and instructions adopted by competent persons and bodies in the exercise of their function, if the act does not constitute a very serious offense.

– Uttering words or performing acts that violate the integrity or dignity of persons affiliated with the sports organization or against the public attending a test or competition.

– The manipulation or alteration, either personally or through an intermediary, of sports equipment or materials contrary to the technical rules of each sport.

– The falsification by an amateur player of the results obtained in the tests, as well as the deliberate help of any other player to commit such an offense.

– Declaring to be in possession of the federation license when participating in a test, without being registered as a federation member.

– The deliberate deterioration of the playing field or sports facility.

– The lack of attention to the requirements requested by a federative body, without a justifiable reason.

Some of the minor infractions include:

– Making comments to judges, referees and sports authorities in the performance of their duties, in a way that implies slight impropriety.

– Minor impropriety towards the public, colleagues or subordinates.

– Adopting a passive attitude in complying with the orders and instructions received from judges, referees and sports authorities in the exercise of their functions.

– Disrespect or any breach of the rules of courtesy committed against a fellow competitor, opponent, observer, scorer, judge-referee, members of the Competition Committee or public, on the occasion of or during the course of a test.

– In general, non-compliance with sports rules due to negligence or excusable carelessness.