Rule E3 (1) relates to conduct and states:
“A Participant shall at all times act in the best interests of the game and shall not act in any manner which is improper or brings the game into disrepute or use any one, or a combination of, violent conduct, serious foul play, threatening, abusive, indecent or insulting words or behaviour”.
The wording of the above clause is extremely wide and whilst it does of course cover conduct on the pitch, it also covers conduct off the pitch. It is the scope of conduct off the pitch that is of particular interest.
As can be seen from the charge of Mr Cellino, conduct away from the pitch isn’t just limited to conduct during normal working hours or within the confines of the workplace, but also includes conduct on social media. Social media is often used by people when they are not working and is, by its very nature, informal. It is unlikely be contemplated by the user of social media at the time the communication is sent, that the content of the communication could end up leading to a charge from the FA. It is arguable that Rule E3 (1) has the ability to control all public facing communications of a Participant’s (see definition below) life.
Rule E3 (2) relates to “aggravated breaches” and states:
A breach of Rule E3 (1) is an “Aggravated Breach” where it includes a reference, whether express or implied, to any one or more of the following :- ethnic origin, colour, race, nationality, religion or belief, gender, gender reassignment, sexual orientation or disability
Dự 2-0 cho Aston Villa
