[ratdude747]

Originally Posted by EricH

There was a rule. The "civility rule" has been in the manual for a long long time. [Edit] Found it, courtesy of FIRST's archive.


That would have been a red if that was the rule, but then there was another rule, also a longtime rule. The "egregious behavior" rule, in fact, is in exactly the same place as it was this year.

I'm guessing that the ref called "uncivil behavior in the Arena" and HQ downgraded to "egregious team member behavior".

I'd agree with that assessment. IIRC the reason it was kept at all (and not reduced to "no card") was that FIRST wanted to send a message that physical incidents with referees would not be tolerated or condoned. However, that's based on my iffy memory and probably not officially public information (it's over 2 years ago, statute of limitations?).