ASSAULT ON REFEREE.

Taranaki Daily News, 16 June 1922, Page 2

ASSAULT ON REFEREE.

THREE MEN FINED, By Telegraph.—-Press Association. Levin, June 15. Charges arising out of the Shannon football assault were heard by Mr. Stout, S.M., this morning. Lionel Buckman pleaded guilty to assault and Hugh McDonald pleaded guilty to using indecent language. McDonald pleaded not guilty to using indecent language; Charles Young, not guilty to assault. Edgar Claridge, referee, said he was coach to the Rovers, and when he reached Shannon he found the referee was not present. Buckman, the Shannon captain, asked the witness to referee and he did so and. had occasion to caution some of the Shannon players for bad language. He ordered McDonald off and heard someone advise him not to go, but “Go back and crack him.” McDonald came back, but witness could not. say if he was one of those who assaulted him. Several -men struck witness and his jaw was broken in two places and two teeth, knocked out, and his braces torn off. He was dazed by . the assault, but eventually went on with the game. McDonald wanted to •' fight witness after the match, but witness went with his ■friends and was taken to the Palmerston Hospital. Cross-examined he said he had no money on the game. Counsel suggested that the referee had a whistle in his mouth which caused the breaking of his teeth, but witness' denied this. Carl Frechtling, a member of the Rovers team said McDonald called the referee a foul name and was ordered off. Buckman called McDonald back and said, “Give him something to go off for, even if it costs you six months.” The crowd gathered round and someone on the line said, “Go on, give him something.” McDonald then struck Claridge,and Buckman also did so with his open hand. Cross-examined, he said there had been no trouble about the referee’s decisions right along. A large amount of corroborative evidence was given to the effect that the three accused struck the referee and that the spectators swarmed on to the ground. The defence alleged that there was dissatisfaction with the referee’s decisions. Buckman said the referee penalised him and used bad language about him. Young suggested that the referee should order himself oft' for using bad language. The referee then struck Young and a rough and tumble ensued on the ground, after which the referee got up and went on with the game. Other witnesses said that Buckman struck the referee first. McDonald contended that it was a case of mistaken identity in regard to his being -the first aggressor. Recalled, Claridge denied the allegations of the defence. McDonald was convicted of assault and fined- £lO. half to go to the referee, and was convicted and discharged on the charge of using mdecent language. Buckman and Young were each convicted of assault and finfed £5.