REFEREE SOLE JUDGE OF FACT.

Manawatu Herald, Volume XLIX, Issue 3801, 5 June 1928, Page 3

REFEREE SOLE JUDGE OF FACT.

PRINCIPLE UPHELD BY HOROWTIENUA RUGBY COUNCIL. Tile powers of a referee, and incidentally his abilities, were discussed at the weekly meeting of the Horowhenua Rugby District Council at Levin last week, when a letter was received from Mr. W. Neville, of Foxton, reporting that, in the junior match Shannon v. -Foxton, at Foxton on Saturday last, he ordered a Shannon player named Mason off the field for continually disputing his (the referee’s) rulings and remarking to his fellow players that they were playing 1G men. The writer added that he had given the lad a warning early in the game. (SHANNON CLUB PROTESTS. The Shannon Club, through their secretary, Mr. G. Mitchell, forwarded a letter protesting against the ruling- of the referee in the junior match, Shannon v. Foxton. The protest, the letter stated, was against the rulings (1) in orderingoff Mason and (2) in not awarding a try to the Shannon team but a five-yards scrum, when, it was alleged a clear try was scored by a Shannon player —namely White. The Shannon Club asked that the match be re-played at Foxton. A protest fee of 10/- was enclosed. The Chairman, in referring to the Shannon protest, said he thought that it was out of order, in that the referee was the sole judge of fact and the Council had to abide by his action in ordering any player off. As to the second part of the letter, differing from the referee for not awarding a try, the same principle applied, and the club could not protest. Mr,. A. Richards (Shannon): Ho is not allowed to go outside the laws of the game, under Law 10. He must make his decision according to those rules. The. chairman: You cannot tell me under what rule he gave his decision. Mr. Richards: We are prepared to bring witnesses. If he is not here to defend the case, we are. The chairman: The referee awards the try on fact, not law. He can order a five yards scrum. My ruling is that the Shannon protest against his ordering Mason off the field is out of order. REFEREE’S QUALIFICATION. Mr. Richards: Is Mr. Neville entitled to referee under the Horowhenua Referees’ Association? The chairman: Yes, being a financial member. In answer to questions, the chairman stated that the defendant in this case was the same A. Mason who was cautioned at the meeting of May Bth, having been ordered off the’ field by Mr. P. H. McGregor for striking out at a Foxton player. THE PLAYER EXAMINED. Mason was then called in, and the chairman read to him the letter from Mr. Neville reporting his conduct. In reply Mason said that the i'Cferee had not cautioned him. He (Mason), was taking a kick at the goal, and certain spectators were “slinging off” at him about a player who had charged at him a fortnight previously and broken his collar-bone. He (Mason) called out that the team had come to play 15 men, and not 16. He did not direct this remark to the referee, but to a spectator. His (Mason’s) father approached the referee after the game and said that the remark had been made on the spur of the moment and that he would write to the Union and have the case lightly dealt with. When ordered off the field, he (Mason) went straight up town. lie did not remember Mr. Neville cautioning any Shannon players. The chairman: You admit that you said, “We are not here to play 16 men?” Mason: Yes —to one of the spectators. The chairman pointed out to the meeting that Mr. Neville was not in attendance, and that it would rest with the delegaes whether the case should be gone on with. Mr. H. Hutchins (Foxton) asked Mason if Mr. Neville cautioned the team at all; and Mason replied that he did not remember the referee saying anything to either side. Mr. F. Robinson (Hautere) : Your father was there? Mason: Yes-. He was disgusted with the game. He was not disgusted with your “magging?” —No! I never said anything. Didn’t your father get on to you about talking too much on the field?—No. When I was going off, he came after me and asked me what was the matter. He approached the referee and said he would write a letter to the Union and get it made light. I never disputed any of the rulings. Your father did not go off the ground with you? —He stayed and saw the finish and the senior match. The chairman: When you passed the remark to the spectator, did you mean that the Foxton fifteen was added to? Mason: When I was going off, we were playing the whole of the spectators as well. Mr. Richards: Do you think the referee had any chance of hearing what you said? Mason: I don’t know. He was a fair distance away from me 20 yards or so. He came back and asked me what I had said, and I said “Nothing.” He then said, “I think you had better stand on the line.”

Mr. M. Ryder (Wanderers) : Do you think the referee was giving your team fair treatment? Mason: I don’t think he was. Mr. G. Mitchell (Shannon): What were you doing at the time when the spectators were “slingingoff?” Mason: I was just going to kick the goal. We had scored a try. .Some ladies sang out something, and I did not know whether to kick or not. I missed it and came back. When the referee ordered me off, the spectators told him to put a dozen off. The chairman: Do you make a habit of taking notice of what spectators say on the line? Mason: No; but it is hard to swallow things they say. The chairman: You wore before the Council previously, and I think it was pointed out to you then that, if you came before the Council again, that charge would count against you. Mr. Richards: The referee, in his statement, says he warned you once or twice. The chairman: He says he ordered Mason off for continually disputing his rulings; also that ho gave Mason a warning early in the game. PRETTY POSITIVE. Mr. Richards: Are you positive that he did not warn you? Mason: Yes; positive. He did not speak to me before. I would put my hand on a stack of Bibles and swear to it. Mr. W. S. Joyce (Weraroa): Did the referee issue a general warning to the players before starting the game? Mason: No; I never heard it. The defendant was then asked to retire. Mr. Richards stated that there was some further evidence to call. The chairman: It is just a case of taking witnesses against a statement that a referee makes. We don’t, as a rule, allow them. We reckon that the referee is the sole judge of fact. This boy admits that he used the expression “sixteen men.” REFEREE NOT IN ATTENDANCE. Mr. Richards: We sent a letter to the Foxton Club. Mr. Neville knew that we were protesting, and it is his place to be here to-night. The chairman: Not exactly, because it means that lie comes at the expense of the Council. If you move that we wait till Mr. Neville appears, then this player in suspended till we deal with his casq. Mr. Robinson: With every player that we have had to deal with, we have taken the referee’s statement, and I don’t think we should make any difference to-night. Mr. Richards: It means that any man can join the Referees’ Association and make any ruling he likes, and that we have to stand by it. The chairman: No; if they admit a man and the selector thinks lie is a fit and proper person to referee, it is their business. We have handed the appointment of referees to tlie Association, and we take their decision as final. (Concluded on page 1).