CRAIG RAY, Cape Town | Tuesday 4.20pm.
A WESTERN Province rugby official and a linesman were brutally assaulted at a club rugby match in Athlone on the Western Cape this weekend, it emerged on Tuesday.
The incident took place at the match between the Paarl Rangers and Kuilsrivier on Saturday.
Linesman Michael Vermeulen was attacked as an angry mob stormed the field apparently irate with the result that ended in a 12-7 win for Kuilsrivier.
Vermeulen suffered head injuries after being punched and hit over the head with bottles.
He was rushed to hospital after losing consciousness and was still receiving treatment on Tuesday, although it has been diagnosed as a concussion.
Herman Abrahams, the WP official who was in attendance raced onto the field in an effort to stop the referee being assaulted only to be assaulted himself.
Initially thought to be stabbed, Abrahams suffered a laceration on his hand but the circumstances of the cause of the injury remain unclear.
“They actually tried to stab me from behind with a broken bottle,” he told ZA*SPORTS. Although he was not stabbed, “I have a cut lip, bruised nose, cut thumb and a cut on my neck, as well as a brusied body.
“The union had hired some security but there were only about five of them and the spectators just ran over the fences.”
The Western Province Rugby Union are holding a disciplinary hearing on Tuesday night to decide the fate of the offending club – Paarl.
“Paarl can face anything from a suspension to a complete banning from participation,” said WP CEO Theuns Roodman.
“The match was played at a neutral venue, but it has been established that it was the Paarl fans who started the commotion.
“It is always a small group of people who ruin it for the others, but the result of the match will stand as the incident took place after the final whistle.
Abrahams added: “The executive has appointed another committee to further investigate the matter once the disciplinary hearing is over.”
This is not the first time there has been violence at club matches in the Western Cape. At matches earlier in the year there were crowd brawls and despite promises from the Union that action would be taken it seems as if little is being done. — MWP