Buffalo rugby club prop Renier Schoeman has been banned from club rugby on the Border for life, after hitting a referee during a match last month.
Schoeman attacked Border referee, Sizwe Sodinga, during a game between Buffalo Club and Ntlaza Lions. This while Sodinga was trying to send him off the field of play with a red card, near the end of the match, after a second yellow card offence.
Schoeman had to face a disciplinary hearing, with Border Rugby deciding to impose a life ban on the player.
“The player concerned was found guilty of assaulting a match official by the Border Rugby Union misconduct committee and has been banned for life,” Border Rugby director Dumisani Mhani said.
Mhani said Border Rugby wanted to send a “strong message” against violent behaviour aimed at match officials, saying these type of actions would not be tolerated.
“This is the biggest ban we have handed out and we want to send out a strong message that you cannot assault match officials and if you do, it will be dealt with,” Mhani said. “There are no mitigating factors to discuss as there is no defence for a player to attack a ref in this manner.”
The result of the hearing came as a shock to Buffs rugby, as they believed that the matter was still going to be decided on and that they still had to plead their case.
“It came as a surprise to us as we were under the impression that the hearing was being postponed to another date as not all submissions had been made on the matter,” Buffs rugby president Wayne Palmer said. “We then received an e-mail late on Friday afternoon saying that he had been banned.
“So at the moment we are unable to comment any further as we are evaluating our options and we will be conversing with Border Rugby over the week to decide on the best course of action.”
A week after this incident, the same referee was involved in another altercation, where it is alleged that a member of a team’s coaching staff struck him at another match.
“We are aware that there is another incident involving this ref. The Border Referees Association has been informed of it and that incident is being looked into,” Mhani admitted.
Mhani said outcomes of this nature would go a long way in ensuring that clubs held their players accountable when there was poor discipline on the field of play.
“For a player to be red-carded in a game and then banned, that impacts the club,” Mhani said.
“So that is the penalty that the club receives and there is no club or coach that would be happy with being a player short on the field or missing a first-choice player, so we believe that they will hold their players accountable when that happens.”
Border Rugby bans player for life
Schoeman attacked Border referee, Sizwe Sodinga, during a game between Buffalo Club and Ntlaza Lions. This while Sodinga was trying to send him off the field of play with a red card, near the end of the match, after a second yellow card offence.
Schoeman had to face a disciplinary hearing, with Border Rugby deciding to impose a life ban on the player.
“The player concerned was found guilty of assaulting a match official by the Border Rugby Union misconduct committee and has been banned for life,” Border Rugby director Dumisani Mhani said.
Mhani said Border Rugby wanted to send a “strong message” against violent behaviour aimed at match officials, saying these type of actions would not be tolerated.
“This is the biggest ban we have handed out and we want to send out a strong message that you cannot assault match officials and if you do, it will be dealt with,” Mhani said. “There are no mitigating factors to discuss as there is no defence for a player to attack a ref in this manner.”
The result of the hearing came as a shock to Buffs rugby, as they believed that the matter was still going to be decided on and that they still had to plead their case.
“It came as a surprise to us as we were under the impression that the hearing was being postponed to another date as not all submissions had been made on the matter,” Buffs rugby president Wayne Palmer said. “We then received an e-mail late on Friday afternoon saying that he had been banned.
“So at the moment we are unable to comment any further as we are evaluating our options and we will be conversing with Border Rugby over the week to decide on the best course of action.”
A week after this incident, the same referee was involved in another altercation, where it is alleged that a member of a team’s coaching staff struck him at another match.
“We are aware that there is another incident involving this ref. The Border Referees Association has been informed of it and that incident is being looked into,” Mhani admitted.
Mhani said outcomes of this nature would go a long way in ensuring that clubs held their players accountable when there was poor discipline on the field of play.
“For a player to be red-carded in a game and then banned, that impacts the club,” Mhani said.
“So that is the penalty that the club receives and there is no club or coach that would be happy with being a player short on the field or missing a first-choice player, so we believe that they will hold their players accountable when that happens.”
Would you like to comment on this article?
Register (it's quick and free) or sign in now.
Please read our Comment Policy before commenting.
Trending Now
Latest Videos