SINGAPORE – The two rugby players involved in an incident during a National Men’s League game on Nov 11 have been issued “match bans related to their offence and mitigating factors applied”, said the Singapore Rugby Union (SRU) in a statement on Dec 1.
Saints Rugby Football Club and Oldham Rugby were playing their opening match of the season at the St Andrew’s Village rugby pitch when the incident happened during the second half.
In video footage posted online, a Saints player wearing jersey No. 27 was seen kicking the shoulder of a motionless Oldham player who, just seconds earlier, had gone down after a clash with a rival player.
After the kick, players from both teams were drawn into a skirmish, with the referee issuing red cards to Saints’ No. 27 and Oldham’s No. 14. The latter was seen punching a Saints player in the ribs and shoving another to the ground during the melee.
The Oldham player, who was involved in a testy exchange with an opponent before he was kicked, received medical attention and was stretchered off.
Oldham were leading 25-13 at the time of the incident and the match ended 28-18 in their favour.
Following the incident, the SRU referred the case to lawyer Paul Sandosham, who is the chair of the legal (disciplinary and appeals) commission.
He then formed a disciplinary tribunal and appointed two legally qualified judicial officers, Wang Shao Ing and Michael Pringle, to determine what offences had been committed and to impose the appropriate sanctions.
After the disciplinary hearing on Nov 21, the tribunal issued match bans to both players, though the SRU did not provide details on the length of the bans nor identify the players involved.
When contacted by The Straits Times, SRU general manager Sidney Kumar said that it is appealing the decision. He said: “SRU is appealing to make it as stern as possible. Under World Rugby laws, there was some application of mitigating factors for the bans but SRU is appealing that those should not be applied.
“We want to send a clear and strong message that this is not condoned.”
The association had also said in its statement that it is “working with the related clubs on restorative practices to ensure that those concerned understand the severity of how their actions have brought the game into disrepute”.
“The SRU has engaged all stakeholders… reminding them to play the game with sportsmanship and the SRU will not hesitate to take strong action against any foul play.”
The national men’s league, which features seven teams, runs till March 9.
