Investigation Procedure


 *  Determining an Infraction 
 * Any judge call which lasts longer than 1 minute requires that the match be given an appropriate time extension, so a judge should take note of the time as he or she answers a call. A judge should never “reverse engineer” a penalty – the penalty should never be applied before an infraction has been determined. Both players should explain what happened, and answer truthfully any questions the judge may have. The judge will examine the situation, and determine if an infraction has occurred. If so, the judge will then explain the infraction.
 * If no infraction has occurred, the judge will quickly explain why.


 * Some infractions, depending upon severity, will be explained in private to the player committing the infraction. Not every situation that occurs is appropriate for public knowledge; so the judge’s decision to address the matter in private should be respected by opponents, spectators, etc.


 * Just like questions about card rulings, players have the right to appeal to the Head Judge when they are involved in a tournament policy issue. The Head Judge’s decision is final.


 *  Applying the Penalty 
 * Once an infraction has been identified, the judge will ask the player if he or she has received any other penalties for this same infraction during the course of the tournament. This helps the judge determine if a penalty might have to be upgraded. Players are expected to answer this question honestly – lying to a tournament official is against tournament policy. If it is a repeat infraction, the judge will notify the Head Judge prior to applying a penalty, as the Head Judge might wish to upgrade it. If this is a first time infraction, the judge will briefly educate the player concerning the infraction and then apply the penalty. The judge will then allow the players to continue play. If the call took longer than a minute, the judge will note the appropriate time extension on the top left of the front of the Match Result Slip.


 * The judge will take the Match Result Slip from the table, and fill out the reverse side of the Match Result Slip with the penalty information. The information should be written as follows:


 * [Player’s full name] – [Konami Player ID] – [Infraction] – [Penalty given] – [Brief description of

infraction] – [Judge’s full name]


 * The judge will then return the slip to the match.
 * Judges should give written warnings as opposed to verbal warnings. Verbal warnings cannot be tracked, which makes it nearly impossible to tell if a player is repeating an infraction. Players are also less likely to take a verbal warning seriously, which undermines the point of the penalty.


 *  Reporting Penalties 
 * All penalties issued by a judge must be reported to the Head Judge and the Scorekeeper, usually by filling out the appropriate information on the reverse side of the player’s Match Result Slip. Scorekeepers will enter the details of the penalty in the official Konami Tournament Software so that it may be tracked throughout the course of an event. Konami reserves the right to contact a player who has accumulated an excessive amount of penalties for further investigation. In addition, Konami reserves the right to pursue further actions – such as suspensions from sanctioned Konami events – based on continued infractions.