Golden Lions referees 'withdraw services'
Aftermatch of assault
Following an assault on one of their members and a couple of other unpleasant matches, the Golden Lions Referees' Society has decided to withdraw its services from club rugby for a week.
The referees insist that this is not a strike, just a temporary withdrawal of services to make the point that such behaviour is unacceptable.
The member assaulted was a first league referee, Deon Claassen. At the match between the Raiders and Pirates he was the touch judge. The referee was Pro Legoete and there seemed no trouble at all in the match, which the Raiders won.
Afterwards Claassen was walking to his car when three Raiders men began insulting him. Eventually one of them assaulted him and in fact beat him up. (It may be worth mentioning in the context of the club involved that there was no racial difference between alleged perpetrator and victim.)
Bleeding Claassen went back to the clubhouse. The person involved was identified.
Afterwards Claassen went to the hospital where he received six stitches. The referees were also angry at the medical expenses Claassen incurred and his loss of income as a broker.
On Monday night the Golden Lions president Jannie Ferreira addressed the members of the Referees' Society and was supportive of the stand that they have made. Several clubs have also expressed their support.
He said to this website: "The referee's safety is always a concern and we must take steps against all forms of abuse, including verbal abuse. We need to get rid of it.
"This case of physical abuse is rare and we need to follow the right procedures. I explained to the referees that I could not act until the person involved had had a hearing. But if he is guilty he will feel it.
"The clubs must take responsibility for the behaviour at their grounds and we have given referees the right to penalise verbal abuse.
"We will also do what we have done in the past and that is take home games from clubs found guilty of verbally abusing the referee.
In another incident recently, three Roodepoort players, two of them former provincial players, were sent off in a match with the University of Johannesburg's Under-20 team. Sent off Dries Maritz is said to have grabbed the referee by his private parts, refusing to leave the field.
The match was ended early, and the people involved are to appear before the Disciplinary Committee.
