REFEREES PROTEST

Sun (Auckland), Volume 1, Issue 105, 25 July 1927, Page 7

REFEREES PROTEST

RANFURLY MATCH AFTERMATH

N.Z. ASSOCIATION RECORDS OBJECTIONS

Press Association.

THESE lay down that the referee is the sole judge of the fact that his statement that the players in question were guilty of misconduct was sufficient to warrant him ordering them off, and should have been accepted as a question of fact and adjudicated upon accordingly. The only evidence the unions could have accepted w \ > to the end to prove that the players received provocation. The referee, after ordering a player off, fulfils hi s whole duty in fully reporting the occurrence, and he should not be called upon to amplify his statement or to be cross-examined. The association is of the opinion

WELLINGTON, Saturday. DISSATISFACTION existing among Rugby referees as a result of the decisions of the Hawke’s Bay and Wairarapa Unions, respectively, exonerating Maurice Brownlie and Quentin Donald, who were ordered off the field in the recent Ranfurly Shield, match, was expressed at last night’s meeting of the New Zealand Referees’ Association, which carrried a series of resolutions on the matter appealing against the decisions.

that, where players are ordered off in matches and Ranfurly Shield matches, the facts should be considered by the New Zealand Rugby Union. The a-ssociation feels that an apology is due to the referee from the two unions in regard to the things said in an endeavour to whitewash the players concerned. The referee is commended on his determination to see that the methods employed in the match did not go beyond the bounds of fair play, and regret is expressed at the manner in which his report, in regard to the ordering off, was dealt with.