Teen referee ‘punched’ at junior rugby league match in Engadine
PHIL ROTHFIELD and BRENDEN HILLS, The Sunday Telegraph
June 18, 2016 7:27pm
A TEENAGE referee was allegedly punched in the face by a trainer at a junior rugby league match in southern Sydney today, after requesting the trainer’s son be replaced on the field.
Police were called to Anzac Oval in Engadine about 1pm after the 34-year-old allegedly lashed out at 16-year-old referee, Kurt Portsmouth, in an under-12Cs match between the Engadine Dragons and Gymea Gorillas.
The 34-year-old is a trainer for the Gymea team and was this afternoon charged with assault occasioning actual bodily harm.
Kurt Portsmouth, 16, suffered facial injuries after the alleged attack.
The altercation occurred after Kurt ruled that one of the Gymea players, the trainer’s son, be replaced after lashing out at an opposing player with his foot.
Players can’t be sent off in junior rugby league matches. Instead, the referee can order they be subbed out and replaced by a bench player.
The trainer is alleged to have lashed out at Kurt after he made the call.
Sources said the trainer allegedly punched the teen in the face, leaving him with bruising on the face.
Kurt, a Year 10 student at De La Salle College, was taken to the Sydney Children’s Hospital at Randwick as a precautionary measure because he suffered from a brain tumour four years ago.
He is undergoing a number of tests.
In moving scenes, Kurt was given a standing ovation by spectators as he was wheeled away by paramedics on a stretcher.
Police were called to the ground and the 34-year-old was taken to Sutherland police station, where he was later charged.
He was given conditional bail to appear before Sutherland Local Court on June 22.
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