Referees for this weekend’s Tongatapu rugby union tournament semi-final games have withdrawn their service after two colleagues were assaulted during a match last Saturday.
Kaniva News reported that a sideline referee had been punched after the game between Kolomotu’a and the Liahona Old Boys (LOB).
A spokesperson for the Tongatapu Sub-Union Committee, which organised the tournament, has just confirmed that the same player from the LOB assaulted not one but two sideline referees.
He said one of the two sideline referees allegedly lost two teeth after the assault while the other received minor injuries.
Afimeimo’unga Hola, 42, has been identified as the player who allegedly assaulted the referees.
A Committee spokesperson told Kaniva News that Hola has been banned from paying rugby union for life, and his team must pay a fine of $3000.
The Committee was also in the process of prosecuting Hola.
The spokesperson confirmed that the referees officiating the tournament had opted to withdraw their service.
It is understood that this group of referees feel that this action is necessary to strongly condemn any form of violence, aggression, or abuse towards match officials.
However, the spokesperson said that despite the referees’ withdrawal, the games scheduled for tomorrow, Saturday 21, will still take place.
As we reported earlier this week, the assault occurred during the game between the LOB and Kolomotu’a teams.
It began shortly after the referee allowed a late try just after full-time while the ball was still in play, ultimately leading to Kolomotu’a’s victory.
Before awarding the try, the referee sought advice from a sideline referee, who agreed it was a try for Kolomotu’a.
Threats against referees
The Committee’s spokesperson expressed disappointment that the mistreatment of referees in rugby is still ongoing.
“The committee encounters significant challenges when attempting to secure referees to officiate our games during the annual district tournament,” he stated.
He said that the committee was underfunded and had to run the tournament in a very challenging situation.
He said that the incident between the Liahona and Kolomotu’a teams did not improve their situation.
“Previous incidents have shown that such abuse causes officials to leave the sport”
He said the Committee had apologised to the Liahona team because they believed the referees had made an incorrect decision. The spokesperson did not provide details of the alleged mistake.
He also said that the “player who punched the referee is prosecuted and banned from playing for life”.
