[blml] a matter of moment

[Nigel]

[Manuela Mandache]
> South, declarer in 4S, won the 7 first tricks and lost T8 to East's 
> DK. The
> remaining cards:
> -
> -
> Q864
> 8
> Q8 -
> - Q
> A7 5
> Q JT7
> 963
> -
> T9
> -
> East leads the CJ, South ruffs with the S3 and West overruffs with the 
> S8. For
> some reason, TD is near and sees the revoke.
> 1. TD sais to West, "You still have Clubs." West plays the CQ to T9, 
> H8 is a MPC
> and South wins his 10 tricks. NS mark 4S=.
> 2. TD shuts up, the card play ends and no player noticed the revoke. 
> Before they
> mark, TD draws their attention to it, applies L64A and EW get a two tricks
> penalty. NS mark 4S+1.
> 3. TD shuts up further more, still no player notices the revoke. NOS 
> declares to
> the next board or the turn ends and now TD draws the attention to the 
> revoke,
> applies L64B4 or 5 and C and the result stands. NS mark 4S-1.
>
> I have been taught TD should follow point 3: L81C6 is applied in the least
> interfering way possible. Nevertheless, ISTM that none of the three 
> scenarios
> contradicts the laws, so there are three perfectly legal possible 
> results. I am
> either dead wrong or not, but extremely puzzled anyway. Can you help 
> me out of
> this state? (I can hardly imagine being the first one to walk this 
> path, but
> with no thread name it is difficult to find something in the archives.)
>
[nige1]
Excellent question Manuela!

In almost any other legal context, if you witness a blatant infraction, 
then your duty is to report it (at least); and if you are a law-enforcer 
then your prime duty is to uphold and enforce the law :)

Only in the surreal context of Bridge Rules, are you prevented from 
reporting wrong-doing to the authorities; and if you are a law-enforcer, 
are you expected to permit an infraction to proceed, right under your 
nose, that you can easily prevent (:

In such a surreal context, it is only to be expected, that identical 
infractions attract different rulings (as here) depending on the whim of 
the law-enforcer (:

The lesson for the player is to choose a section where the director is a 
friend :)

TFLB should probably make this clear :)