When An Official Was Not An Official

Chronicle (Levin), 22 July 1948, Page 4

When An Official Was Not An Official

There was nothing personal in his complaint, but the matter was one that should' be raised, said Mr. T. Winiata when commenting at the meeting of the management committee of the Horowhenua Rugby Union that a member of the committee had last week played in a club competition game. He understood that it was against the rules of the union for one of its officers to take part in club games. A perusal . of the rules by the chairman, Mr. A. Gillespie, brought forth the information that officials of the union were shown as only the patron, president, one vicepresident, secretary and honorarytreasurer. Under the rules as they stood, it appeared that the person complained of, Mr. D. Oliver, was not an official, said members, though he was a member of the committee. There apparently had been an error in the compilation of the rules. In explanation, Mr. Oliver said that he had not played football for 14 years, and that he had volunteered to fill a gap in the team, as the emergency was unfit. The public, he said, had paid admission to see a game and were entitled to see a full team in action. Had there been any emergencies available he would not have played.