ALLEGED FOOTBALL BETTING.

Manawatu Herald, Volume XLIV, Issue 2454, 15 July 1922, Page 3

ALLEGED FOOTBALL BETTING.

CHARGE AGAINST UNION - • : OFFICIAL. V At Tuesday’s meeting of the i Horowhentfa Rugby Union Mr F. S-Whibley,jthe Foxton delegate, made \a, charge,'against a fellow member, • Mr W.rßevan, of Mauakau, of betting on a- recent match that was played under the jurisdiction of the ' Union. Mr W. Thomson presided, and other members present were Messrs M; Winiata, L. S. Carmichael, R. W. Percy, Father Vibaud, and the two. members concerned, Messrs -Whibley and Bevan. - The chairman briefly explained that the meeting was a special one called to hear the charge of betting s ;; made by: Mr .Whibley against Mr j Bevan. The proper procedure was ... for Mr Whibley to make the charge and substantiate it. Mr Whibley said in making the charge he had- no personal feeling in the matter. Had it been against any other member he would have acted just the same. As a matter of fact until the last annual meeting of the Union he did not know Mir Bevan, and he. had brought the charge simply with the view of keeping the game clean. In the past -there was no doubt.about the betting there had been on matches, and the Union should do all it could to stop it, whether the offenders were in the Union or not. The betting evil was rife last year, and it was the same this year. Mr Whibley said no one had come to him in connection with the present matter. He had heard about it casually in Foxton, and he went to see the man eon- / cemed and the latter had told him i all about it. “He did not tell me as a member of the Management Committee,” said the speaker, “and as it was impossible for "him to get here to-night, I have his signed statement' of what occurred.” “COULD GET £6.” The statement read as follows: — “I was present at the Hui Mai-Fox-ton match played at Manakau on 3rd instant. I saw. Mr Sinclair, of Levin .there and told him I had some 'money to back Foxton if I could get three points in. Sinclair immediately approached Mr Bevan, who was standing near by, and then came back and said he could set £6 on the above basis. I looked at Bevan for' confirmation of the bet and he nodded. I took it from what Sinclair did and the nod from Bevan that the bet was made by Sinclair on behalf of BevarK At the conclusion of the game, which Hui Mai won by five points to nil, I approached Bevan who was in the company of Messrs Desmond and Wehipeihana, and paid.over to him the amount of the bet, £6. Bevan hesitated when I • first offered it to him, and then I said ‘that is for the bet made with' t Sinclair.’' Bevan then took the mon- ■'* ey, and crumpled it up and put it in his pocket. (Signed) V. E. Bryant. Witness, S. W. Dndson. Foxton, July 11, 1922”.. . Continuing, Mr Whibley said the question whether Mr Bevan would deny receiving the money in the pre- .... sence of Mr Desmond would determine whether or not he would call Mr Desmond. The Chairman: It is awkward that Bryant is not here, so that we could cross-examine him. In the statement Bryant says he- approached Sinilair to get the bet on. . Mr Whibley: Exactly. f - The Chairman: Possibly the man did not have the money to make the bet himself. Mr Whibley: Mr Bevan accepted the. money afterwards. The Chairman asked if Mr Whibley had anything furthefto say. ~ Mr Whibley: Except whether Mr Bevan will deny Bryant’s statement. “PRODUCE THE WITNESS.” Mr Bevan said he was not going * to make a statement at all. He wanted the man there who said he - made the bet. He did not know Bryant, and he told Mr Whibley that at the last meeting. Mr Whibley said he would bring the man to the next meeting, but he wasn’t here. ,• _ Mr Bevan said 'he was not satisfied ' with the way the matter was going at all. Mr Whibley had laid: a charge, and it was for him to produce his fitness. It whs not a question of what he speaker) was going to do. Mr Whibley: I will call Mr Desmond. Mr Desmond was called, and said he saw Mr Bryant hand Mr Bevah some money, i ' fh: The Chairman: You don’t know, whether it was a bet or not? Mr Desmond: No, I only saw Bryant hand over r the money. -s The Chairman: It is unfortunate Bryant is not here. He asked Mr Whibley if he laid the charge on what Bryant had told him. /..Mr Whibley: Yes. The Chairman: Bryant ought to have been here. It puts the accused man in a-false position, and he can’t cross-examine his accuser. Mr Whibley said that Desmond . was present and saw Bevan receive some money from Bryant. The Chairman: That does not prove a bet. He would like to see Bryant and Sinclair brought together. Mr Bevan said he didn’t know Bryant “from a..bar of soap.” Mr 'Whibley had brought the charge against. him, and he was there to _ prove he was innocent. All Mr . Whibley had rifts a letter. “As this man Bryant considers-he made a bet with me, I want the Union to deal 'with the . matter,” he said. “This is a serious charge, and for Mr "Whibley to come along with a statement instead of producing his ’ v witness is only playing with the Union.” > The Chairman eaid they could not

do anything as Bryant was not there. Mr Bevan said he was prepared to deny the charge. He had been placed in a very awkward position. He had never met or spoken to‘Bryant. The Chairman did not see how they could go on. . , , Mr Whibley: The statement by Bryant says Mr Bevan took the money and Mr Desmond saw it. Mr Bevan won’t admit Bryant paid him anything. Mr Bevan: I am not here to answer that. The Chairman: The charge does not prove anything. Mr Bevan may be able to answer that when the case goes on in Bryant’s presence. Mr Whibley: That is my case. Mr R. W. Percy said the statement was all right as far as it went, but it was not an affidavit. It should have been witnessed by a J.P. Mr Whibley: This is not a criminal offence. It is not criminal to bet, and there is no suggestion the referee was squared, or anything like that. The only thing wrong is that Mr Bevan made a bet when he was a ’member of the Management Committee. Members of the Union should act in a way that the public should have no reason to think there was anything wrong with the management of the game. Father Vibaud did not agree that it was not criminal to bet on a football match. , •

The Chainnan repeated that as Air Whibley brought the charge be should have bad his witness there. Father Vibaud said he agreed with Mr Whibley on the point, that the game should be kept clean, but he maintained that betting should not be connteiV&nced whoever made the bet —players or anyone else. On that point the Union’s own rules dealt with betting, and he quoted Rule 24. This provided that a player - must not bet on a match in which lie was playing, but he did not agree that a player should bet on any match, much less an official. Mr Whibley said he did not suggest that-the Union countenanced betting on a match, but whilst beting went on, the management committee should show the public that they did not countenance betting. “NOT GOING TO STOP HERE.” Mr Bevan asked how was the Union to know the statement was really Bryant’s writing. He did not know Bryant’s writing if he saw it. “I am not prepared to stop here and am going to see the thing right out.” Mr Carmichael: We can only deal with il.is from a football point of view. We are at liberty after reading rule 24. The Chairman stated they were the custodians of the game and must watch its interests-, and when a charge was made such as that before them they must deal with-it. Bryant should have been there. i Mr Whibley: Mr Bevan took tlie : money. :.*? > . . s The Chairman: There is nothing to say what he took it for. It is not fair to the man accused. Mr Winiata : Did Bryant make the charge ? The Chairman: He told Mr Whibley, who 'made the charge at last meeting. It is for the meeting to say what to do from what it has heard. BRYANT MUST APPEAR. Mr Carmichael moved that the enquiry he adjourned until Bryant appeared before the Union. Mr. Whibley: I would not guarantee to get him at all. He explained that Bryant’s business made it very difficult for him to get away at nights. Mr Bevan said if the man made certain statements he should come and substantiate them. Mr Percy seconded, the motion, and said it was quite necessary that Bryant should be there. The Chainnan asked that the motion be made more definite. Mr Carmichael altered his motion to an adjournment, till next Tuesday night, Bryant to be warned to appear that evening. This was carried.—Chronicle.