PASCOE Cup sides Leeton United and Cootamundra face the prospect of being docked competition points should they breach the code of conduct again after Football Wagga issued punishments for verbal abuse of referees.
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United and the Strikers were fined $500 and have been issued a three-point suspended sentence, which will be deducted from their competition tally should they commit another breach.
Leeton United coach Frank Alampi and Cootamundra coach Mo Hassani were both sent away from their games, against Young and Lake Albert respectively, after alleged incidents of referee abuse during the same round late last month.
Tolland's third grade side was also issued the same penalty after a similar recent incident.
FWW felt it necessary to issue a strong warning to clubs to remind them of their responsibilities under their code of conduct.
Cootamundra is winless in the Pascoe Cup, but a three-point deduction would be crucial for sixth-placed Leeton as they battle for a finals spot.
"We asked the clubs to show cause why we shouldn't penalise the people involved. Each of them have their own twists and turns, but in each case it involved a referee and a coach or player," FWW president Tony Dobbin said.
"We decided to look at where we would have the most impact in addressing the problem.
"We've suspended (the deduction of) the three points, but if there's another incident they'd lose those points, plus any other penalty that comes from another incident.
"We could penalise individuals or we could penalise the clubs, because at the end of the day we hold the clubs and ourselves accountable for player, coach and spectator behaviour.
"In some circles a $500 fine doesn't sound like much, but for some of the smaller clubs it's a lot of money.
"It's just about saying to get it under control."
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