(VC Guidelines 5.2; FIVB Casebook 1.06)
Minor misconduct offences are not subject to sanctions. It is the first referee’s duty to prevent the teams from approaching the sanctioning level.
This is done in two stages:
Stage 1: by issuing a verbal warning through the game captain;
Stage 2: by use of a YELLOW CARD to the team member(s) concerned.
This formal warning is not in itself a sanction but a symbol that the team member (and by extension the team) has reached the sanctioning level for the match. It is recorded on the score sheet but has no immediate consequences.
Incorrect conduct by a team member towards officials, opponents, team-mates or spectators is classified in three categories according to the seriousness of the offence.
21.2.1 Rude Conduct: action contrary to good manners or moral principles.
21.2.2 Offensive Conduct: defamatory or insulting words or gestures or any action expressing contempt.
21.2.3 Aggression: actual physical attack or aggressive or threatening behaviour.
(FIVB Casebook 1.06)
According to the judgment of the first referee and depending on the seriousness of the offence, the sanctions to be applied and recorded on the score sheet are: Penalty, Expulsion or Disqualification.
21.3.1 Penalty (FIVB Casebook 1.03)
The first rude conduct in the match by any team member is penalized with a point and service to the opponent.
21.3.2 Expulsion
21.3.2.1 A team member who is sanctioned by expulsion shall not participate for the rest of the set, must be substituted legally/exceptionally and immediately if on court and must go the team’s dressing room until the completion of the ongoing set with no other consequences.
An expelled coach loses his/her right to intervene in the set and must go to the team’s dressing room until the completion of the ongoing set.
Volleyball Canada – in the absence of a team dressing room, an expelled or disqualified participant must leave the Competition Control Area which includes any viewing spaces (spectator seating, viewing boxes, or any area overseeing the playing area).
21.3.2.2 The first offensive conduct by a team member is sanctioned by expulsion with no other consequences.
21.3.2.3 The second rude conduct in the same match by the same team member is sanctioned by expulsion with no other consequences.
21.3.3 Disqualification
21.3.3.1 A team member who is sanctioned by disqualification must be substituted legally/exceptionally and immediately if on court and must go to the team’s dressing room for the rest of the match with no other consequences.
21.3.3.2 The first physical attack or implied or threatened aggression is sanctioned by disqualification with no other consequences.
21.3.3.3 A second offensive conduct in the same match by the same team member is sanctioned by disqualification with no other consequences.
21.3.3.4 The third rude conduct in the same match by the same team member is sanctioned by disqualification with no other consequences.
Volleyball Canada – in the absence of a team dressing room, an expelled or disqualified participant must leave the Competition Control Area which includes any viewing spaces (spectator seating, viewing boxes, or any area overseeing the playing area).
The disqualified participant is not allowed to return to the Competition Area following the conclusion of the match.
21.4.1 All misconduct sanctions are individual sanctions, remain in force for the entire match and are recorded on the score sheet.
21.4.2 The repetition of misconduct by the same team member in the same match is sanctioned progressively (the team member receives a heavier sanction for each successive offence).
21.4.3 Expulsion or disqualification due to offensive conduct or aggression does not require a previous sanction.
Any misconduct occurring before or between sets is sanctioned according to Rule 21.3 and sanctions apply in the following set.
Warning: no sanction
Stage 1: verbal warning
Stage 2: symbol Yellow card
Penalty: sanction – symbol Red card
Expulsion: sanction – symbol Red + Yellow cards jointly
Disqualification: sanction – symbol Red + Yellow cards separately