FOOTBALL.

Auckland Star, Volume XXXIV, Issue 179, 29 July 1903, Page 10 (Supplement)

FOOTBALL.

THE ROUGH PLAY QUESTION.

(To the Editor.)

Sir, —I have just had the pleasure of reading in the "Star" of 11th inst. the result of an interview between a member of your reporting staff and my old friend Harry Frost, on the above subject. Mr Frost's long and intimate experience with the game fully qualified him as an authority, and his remarks will be widely read with interest. With the majority of his remarks I cordially agree, and his opinion that a considerable amount of the trouble is caused by the tactics of wing forwards will be almost unanimously endorsed, is one point, however, on which I cannot altogether agree with Mr Frost; I refer to the question of giving power to any official other than the referee in the matter of dealing with foul and rough play. I am strongly of opinion that, until some assistance can be i,iven to the referee, either by lightening the burden of his multifarious duties, or the appointment of a responsible official who shall have power to report flagrant breaches of the rules of the game: till then will the experienced offender bent the referee, and work off his unfair tricks, his obstructive tactics, and his "getting even" behind that official's buck. How often does it occur that a player in returning a blow is reported and "sent up," the principal offender— the man who struck first—escaping justice simply because he was not caught by the referee, though his action had been clearly observed by other officials present.

The reluctance of referpes to assert their authority to the full in cases of unfair or foul play is nnt making the remedy any easier. Rule 3 of the Laws of the Game provides that a referee shall caution a player guilty of rongh or foul play, or misconduct, for the first offence, and for the second offence he must order him off.

I think any obsprvant follower of our game will admit that, in the oreat majority of cases, it is the wilful breaches of the rules, irritating infringements, srte.h as wilful collaring an opponent when in pursuit of the ball, unfair obstruction on the line-out, etc, etc., which aTe the cause of those offence, at present usually punished by "ordering; off" and reporting to the jroYMnins , bndv. T fwntpnd that if some of the unfair, foul players wore ordered off and "sent up" for a pea«on it wnnld net as n. whole. some, deterrent., and we fOinvld very soon notice a welcome falling off in the minibPT of cases r?T>ort.ed of Whnt is now specially termed "rough play."—l am, etc.,

CVf). TT. MASON. Chrtetehnroh. 51st .Tulv, 1003.