Disciplinary Commission (“The Commission”)
In the matter of Mr. Ross BILHAM - Case IDs: 8277936M & 8278514M
Hearing Summary including Written Reasons
1. This is the hearing summary and includes written reasons for the decision of the
Disciplinary Commission which sat on Friday 6th November 2015.
2. The FA appointed all the Commission members, i.e. Mr. T. Edwards (Chairman), Ms.
L. Woods and Mr. E. Amoah-Nyamekye along with Mr. M. Carpenter to act as
Secretary to the Commission.
3. Mr. Bilham had been charged by Norfolk FA in respect of two matters:Charge 1 (Case ID: 8277936M): FA Rule E3(2) – Improper Conduct – aggravated by a
person’s Ethnic Origin, Colour, Race, Nationality, Faith, Gender, Sexual Orientation
or Disability.
That charge was further detailed as:“It is alleged that at the above mentioned fixture you used abusive and/or insulting
words towards an opponent contrary to FA Rule E3(1). It is further alleged that this
breach of FA Rule E3(2) is an “Aggravated Breach” in that the following phrase was
used: Coon.”
Charge 2 (Case ID: 8278514M): FA Rule E3(1) – Improper Conduct against a Match
Official (including abusive language/behaviour).
That charge was further detailed as:With specific reference to the second paragraph, the Participant is charged under FA
Rule E3 in that it is alleged that after being sent off from the field of play, he
aggressively pointed at and called the referee a “fucking liar” and a “cunt”.
The charge followed the alleged conduct of Mr. Bilham during a match Long Stratton
FC First vs Spixworth FC First played on 26th September 2015 in the Norfolk Senior
Cup which had resulted in Mr. Bilham being sent off and then reported for
misconduct after the sending off.
4. Norfolk FA received a misconduct report from the match referee, Mr. Daniel Keeble,
in which he stated that he had sent Mr. Bilham off in the 85th minute of the match.
He stated “In the 85th minute during of the match, I heard the above player (Ross
Bilham) refer to an opposing striker, Jordan Rocastle, who is of mixed race, as a
“coon.” Positioned approximately 10 -15 yards away, I heard the term clearly and no
other person was in the vicinity from whom the comment may have come. This drew
a strong reaction from the striker….. Not knowing the nature of the term, I sought
clarification from my assistant, Tim Sadler, who confirmed it to refer to race. I
therefore dismissed Mr. Bilham accordingly. It should be noted that Mr. Bilham did
not leave the field promptly as required and, upon his departure, aggressively
pointed to me describing me as a “fucking liar” and a ”cunt.”….”
5. The Assistant Referee, Mr. Tim Sadler, also submitted a report to Norfolk FA in which
he corroborated Mr. Keeble’s statement.
6. As a result of that report Norfolk FA undertook an investigation during which it also
obtained statements from Mr. Jordan Rocastle, the victim of the alleged abuse, and
Mr. Scott Woodcock, a team mate of Mr. Rocastle.
7. At the conclusion of the investigation the charges were raised against Mr. Bilham by
Norfolk FA on 8th October 2015.
8. No formal response to the charges was received by Norfolk FA by the deadline date
of 22nd October. However, in response to a reminder sent by Norfolk FA Mr. Kevin
Gristwood, secretary of Mr. Bilham’s club, Long Stratton FC, stated on Mr. Bilham’s
behalf, “...Yes, he would like to plead option A to both charges which I selected on
the whole game system …” No other submission was received from either Mr.
Bilham or his club.
9. The Commission convened by way of a “WebEx” conference in order to consider all
the available evidence which had been supplied in advance to all its members.
10. Having considered all the available evidence the Commission found that, on the
balance of probabilities, the charges had been proven and it was content to accept
Mr. Bilham’s plea of “guilty” in respect of both.
11. In coming to that decision the Commission found that:
the referee was clear what he heard and who had said it;

the assistant referee did not hear the word “coon” but did hear what had
been said to the referee after the sending off;

Both the victim, Mr. Rocastle, and his team mate, Mr. Woodcock, were clear
what they heard in respect of the ”coon” abuse and who had said it;

the referee sent Mr. Bilham off;

the comment, “coon” constituted an aggravated breach of FA Rule E3(1) by
an implied reference to colour and/or race.
12. Mr. Carpenter advised the Commission of Mr. Bilham’s disciplinary record over the
last 5 seasons, which showed 4 x standard sanctions for sendings off since 2013, a
number of cautions and 2 misconduct charges since 2013. Those were in addition to
the matters before this Commission. Mr. Carpenter also advised the Commission
that Mr. Bilham’s team played at Step 7 of the National League System.
13. The Commission referred to FA Rules E3(1), E3(2), E3(3)(i), E3(8), E3(9) and the
Disciplinary Sanctions Guidelines issued by the FA in coming to its decision.
14. The abusive and/or insulting language has resulted in Mr. Bilham being sent off for
which he received the standard sanction of a 2 match suspension plus a fine of £30.
The Commission therefore took this into account when deciding the appropriate
sanction in respect of this charge.
15. The Commission considered if there were aggravating factors which justified a
sanction above this mandatory minimum and, in relation to Charge 1, did not find
such factors present. Accordingly the Commission decided that in respect of Charge
1 (the “aggravated breach”) a total suspension of 5 matches from all football and a
total fine of £75 would be appropriate. Taking into account the sanction already
imposed for the sending off a sanction of an additional 3 match suspension from all
football and an additional fine of £45 was imposed.
16. In addition the Commission imposed a requirement for Mr. Bilham to undertake an
FA Equality Education Course within 4 months and should he fail to do so he is to be
suspended from all footballing activities until such time as he does undertake the
course, details of which will be provided to him. In respect of this matter 6
disciplinary penalty points were also imposed.
17. In respect of Charge 2, having taken into account Mr. Bilham’s recent poor
disciplinary record which was considered an aggravating factor, the Commission
imposed a 4-match suspension from all football (which is in addition to that
imposed for Charge 1) plus a fine of £50. 5 penalty points were also imposed in
respect of this matter.
T. Edwards
Disciplinary Commission Chairman
6th November 2015