Schoolboy hits referee

There was recently a sad incident in the Western Province where a schoolboy hit and hurt a referee in an Under-16A match. After an inquiry the boy has been removed from all contact sport.

The match was between Stellenberg of Durbanville and DF Malan of Bellville, both prosperous schools, at DF Malan.

The referee for the match was Hentie Gericke, an experienced referee who was a first league referee in the Western Province before retiring club rugby. He is still refereeing schools rugby and takes an active part in the doings of the Western Province Referees’ Society.

The story goes that during the match the player, a prop, in question complained to the referee that DF Malan players had punched. The referee had not seen the punch but did see the Stellenberg player punch an opponent for which he gave the Stellenberg player a yellow card. The player reacted aggressively and the referee upped the sanction to a red card, whereupon the boy hit the referee in the ribs.

There was an uproar as about 100 spectators ran onto the field and the match, which was 10 minutes from an end, was stopped with DF Malan leading 6-3.

The principal of Stellenberg, Theo Boonzaaier, said: “What happened id completely unacceptable.” The principal of DF Malan, Ms Joh Dorfling,  said: “It is a pity that this happened. It was actually a good and pleasant sports day. What happened is not Stellenberg’s fault.”

The matter was then dealt with by the schools and the Western Province Rugby Union. The upshot of the inquiry was that the player would not be allowed to play rugby for the rest of his school career. Apparently the boy and his parents agreed that he should not take part in any contact sport and the boy is to undergo rehabilitation and be closely monitored.