The Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) has ruled that the IPL Anti-Discrimination Code will continue to apply to players, officials and stakeholders even after the conclusion of the season. The code, shared with the franchises recently, also states that the BCCI/IPL will have jurisdiction over the participants for three months after the end of their contracts, and thereafter for any breach that occurred prior to or during this specified three-month period.

"All Players and Team Officials shall continue to be bound by and required to comply with the AntiDiscrimination Code until three (3) months after the termination of his or her contract or, in respect of any Team Official, any other arrangements with a Franchisee and BCCI shall continue to have jurisdiction over him/her under the Anti-Discrimination Code thereafter in respect of matters taking place prior to that point," the 11-page document, accessed by Cricbuzz, notes.

The Anti-Discrimination Code is aimed at BCCI's “efforts to maintain the public image, popularity and integrity of the League by providing: (a) an effective means to deter any participant from conducting themselves in a manner that may be construed as racially and/or religiously offensive; and (b) a robust disciplinary procedure pursuant to which all matters of improper conduct of this nature in relation to the League can be dealt with fairly, with certainty and in an expeditious manner.”

There is, of course, a clear distinction between the Code of Conduct and the Anti-Discrimination Code. The latter is: "Engaging in any conduct (whether through the use of language, gestures or otherwise) which is likely to offend, insult, humiliate, intimidate, threaten, disparage or vilify any reasonable person in the position of a Player, Team Official, Umpire, Match Referee or any other person (including a spectator) on the basis of their race, religion, culture, colour, descent, national or ethnic origin, sex, gender, sexual orientation, disability, marital status and/or maternity status."

The sanctions for a breach will range from suspension for four matches to a ban for life, depending on the past record and its seriousness. The first offence will attract the imposition of a suspension of between 4 and 8 matches, the second offence will see the imposition of a suspension of between 8 matches and a lifetime in respect of the League, and a third or subsequent offence can lead to a suspension of between one year and a lifetime in respect of the League.

In all the above cases, the mandatory requirement will be to "undergo a programme of education/counselling designed to promote the understanding and awareness of issues directly relevant to the offence that the Player or Team Official has been determined to have committed."

The BCCI Ombudsman will adjudicate on the offence. But, the code clarifies, the Ombudsman "will have no jurisdiction to adjust, reverse or amend the results of any match."

Any decision under the Anti-Discrimination Code shall be recognised and respected by the BCCI and the Franchisees automatically upon receipt of notice of the same, without the need for any further formality. Each of the BCCI and the Franchisees shall take all steps legally available to it to enforce and give effect to such decisions. It shall be a condition of participation in the League that all Franchisees shall comply with the Anti-Discrimination Code.

Umpires, match referees, team managers, duly authorised senior representatives of the franchises, or the GM, Game Development, BCCI, can report a breach to the CEO of the BCCI within 36 hours of the incident, following which an inquiry will be conducted.