REGULATION 4 4.5.5 No Union, Rugby Body or Club shall enter in any written agreement and/or arrangement of any kind that provides for and/or in any way facilitates third party influence and/or control over a Player’s playing relationship with his Union, Rugby Body or Club and/or his Registration. 4.5.6 Only a Player who is currently Registered with a Union shall be able to participate in competitions organised, recognised or sanctioned by that Union1. 4.5.7 Players who are Registered and are currently receiving, or who have received, Material Benefit shall be regarded as Contract Players (save for those Players who are no longer classified as Contract Players in accordance with the provisions of Regulation 4.8.1 below). All other Players who are Registered shall be regarded as Non-Contract Players. 4.5.8 A Player may not be registered simultaneously with more than one Union unless he is classified as a student that has reached the age of majority and is in full time education (“Student”) or has reached the age of majority and is a full time member of the armed services (“Serviceman”) and has the prior written permission of his Home Union for Dual Registration2. The status of a Player shall be determined by the Home Union of the Student and/or Serviceman. 4.5.9 For the purposes of Regulation 4.5.8, the Home Union of the Player has absolute discretion to refuse a Student or Serviceman (as the case may be) permission for Dual Registration. Only players that are Students or Servicemen are entitled to apply for permission for Dual Registration. Where a Student or Servicemen is granted permission for Dual Registration by their Home Union: (a) The Dual Registration will not amount to a Clearance under Regulation 4.6 and must be: (i) For no longer than twelve months;3 and (ii) By way of a Standard Dual Registration Form. 1 In respect of the lowest levels of its competitive structure only, a Union or Association may make a written application to the CEO for approval not to apply Regulation 4.5.6. A Union or Association must set out, in full, the reasons for the application and shall provide such further information. Documents and/or any other assistance that the CEO may deem necessary for the proper consideration of the application. The CEO shall have absolute discretion in relation to the approval or refusal of any such application by a Union or Association and the decision of the CEO, including, but not limited to any conditions of approval, shall be final and binding. The CEO may at his absolute discretion withdraw any approval granted to any Union or Association pursuant to this provision. For the avoidance of doubt, any application made pursuant to this provision shall only be considered by the CEO if it relates to the lowest levels of a Union or Association’s competitive structures. Disputes arising out of Regulation 4 will, preferably, be adjudicated on by member(s) of the Judicial Panel who are experienced in player issues, including but not limited to training and development, and may include eminent ex-players. 2 NB: An attempt has been made to define Student and Servicemen narrowly. Operational experience will demonstrate whether further refinement to these Regulations is necessary to achieve the underlying purpose of this amendment. 3 Consideration may need to be given to imposing a limitation on the number of times a Player may apply for Dual Registration. In practice this may present difficulties due to the length of degree courses and uncertainty with regard to Servicemen’s tours of duty. Last update: 14 January, 2015 74
World Rugby Handbook
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