What is the Sport Disciplinary Board?
The Sport Disciplinary Board is an independent body appointed by the CHL to control the sport disciplinary process in the Champions Hockey League.
Who runs the Sport Disciplinary Board?
The Sport Disciplinary Board Chairman is Lyle Seitz who is appointed by the CHL Board. He, in cooperation with the CHL Sport Manager Fadri Holinger, is in charge of receiving requests and reviewing incidents, aided by a panel of 6 people which are highly experienced and well versed with ice hockey, its rules and procedures. All six CHL founding leagues are represented in the Sport Disciplinary Board. The members are not bound by any restrictions and not accountable to anyone for their decisions.
The CHL Sport Disciplinary Board members are known by the CHL Board and the 24 teams, but not named in public.
It shall be the duty of the CHL Sport Disciplinary Board to act as a sole decider of the matters brought before it. The Chairman of the Sport Disciplinary Board has the final say on its decision, taking into account the feedback he has received.
What is reviewed?
- All major penalties
- All game misconducts
- All abuse of official penalties
- All serious situations, regardless of if a penalty has been called
Additionally the CHL Sport Disciplinary Board may review any other incident referred to it by the Game Supervisor, or a Club or which the Sport Disciplinary Board views as requiring supplementary jurisdiction.
Where is it reviewed?
On game days, the CHL operates its own Situation Room in cooperation with the German Ice Hockey League (DEL) and their DEL Game Centre in Neuss (GER). Livestreams of all CHL Games are transmitted to the CHL Situation Room, where all games are monitored live and every incident on the ice is logged by a dedicated person. In addition, a Hockey Operations and Referee Supervisor is assigned for each Game Day.
Any notable event on the ice, with or without a call, is tracked, and if deemed worthy of Disciplinary Review, sent to the Sport Disciplinary Board
What are the Sport Disciplinary Board procedures?
- Disciplinary procedure opened by the Chairman, the Game Supervisor, a member of the Sport Disciplinary Board, the CHL Sport Manager, the CHL Senior Sport Advisor or a Club.
- Chairman determines that a supplementary jurisdiction case exists.
- Sport Disciplinary Board Chairman notifies the Sport Disciplinary Board Members, and provides all relevant evidence/reports (inc. video footage & written comments) by 13:00 CEST the day after the game
- Sport Disciplinary Board Chairman makes final decision and notifies participating club no less than four hours before their next CHL game
- Preferably, the final decision shall be communicated towards the accused club / player within 24 hours of the incident occurring.
Can clubs appeal a suspension or a decision by the Sport Disciplinary Board?
Yes, if the suspension exceeds three games or € 15.000.
In these cases, an appeal to the Justice Board is mandatory prior to an appeal to the Court of Arbitration for Sport (CAS). The appeal shall be submitted in writing within 24 hours after receipt of the Sport Disciplinary Board’s decision.
Anything to add?
The CHL Sport Disciplinary Board shall reflect the Champions Hockey League Founding Leagues. The Champions Hockey Leagues takes the protection of players very seriously. Dangerous hits to the head, neck and back are something the Champions Hockey League is very keen to cut out of the game.
There is no doubt that decisions of the Sport Disciplinary Board will be unpopular at times and people may disagree with the decisions, but the CHL Sport Disciplinary Board and its Chairman Lyle Seitz will make the decisions based on evidence following the rules of the game.
Owners, fans, players, coaches and the CHL all want to see all the players on the ice playing, but not on the expense of player safety or the rules of the game.