Beri suspended for 6 weeks by league board

Press, Volume CXII, Issue 32977, 25 July 1972, Page 14

Beri suspended for 6 weeks by league board

(By J.

O. COFFEY)

N. P. Beri, the Marist-Western Suburbs Rugby league captain and prop forward who was sent off the field during the match against Papanui on Sunday, was suspended for six weeks by the Canterbury board of control last evening.

However, it was by only a 5-4 majority vote that board members upheld the recommendation of the judicial committee, and one speaker, Mr F. J. Duane, said that the referee (Mr T. C. Houston) had erred in not ordering off the Papanui forward who was primarily involved in the incident with Beri.

Mr Duane said that Beri required ambulance attention after leaving the field. Eight

stitches were later inserted in a cut inside his mouth, there were sprig marks on his brow, and Beri was now forced to use crutches because of a severe ankle injury. Most of the discussion on the matter was taken in committee at the request of the chairman (Mr M. R. Clinton), before Mr Clinton announced the decision and said that both clubs would also be contacted concerning the behaviour of the players who took part in the flare-up that led to Beri’s dismissal. “In fixing the penalty the judicial committee took into consideration the previous behaviour of this player. We were particularly concerned about the affair because Beri is the first premier player to be ordered off this season,” Mr Clinton said.

The length of the suspension means that Beri will not be available for Canterbury’s fixtures against Waikato (August 12) and Auckland (August 26) in the Rothmans tournament, and will not be able to resume playing for his club until after the completion of the minor championship.

Marist-Western Suburbs is in second position, one point behind Papanui, in a very close contest for the semifinals of the major premiership.

REFEREE’S REPORT In his report, Mr Houston said that Beri “became involved in a skirmish after I had taken the number of the player who threw the first punch. I had told Beri not to get involved and told him to get out of it.

“He made a chase of some 15 yards towards the Papanui players and started a dust-up with them. I had no hesitation in ordering him from the field of play. “Prior to ordering off Beri, who was the captain of the team, he had frequently questioned my rulings,” said Mr Houston. Later in his written statement Mr Houston said that he had been abused when he told Beri after the game that he would be required

to appear before the judicial committee.

Commenting on the board's decision, the president of the Marist-Western Suburbs club (Mr B. R. P. Curtain) said that he considered the sixweek penalty to be “absurd” and, as a personal opinion, he said that his committee would meet and probably lodge an appeal to the league. “Beri has shown commendable restraint in numerous club matches in the face of provocation.” Mr Curtain said. “He is a key man in the side because of his experience in New Zealand and Australia, is the captain, and as a representative player has always been the centre of attention. A PENALTY

“The ironical point is that if Beri had not chased the man who hit him, MaristWestern Suburbs would have received a penalty on the line-umpire’s report of the start of the incident. Because he retaliated, Marist did not get the penalty but Beri got six weeks on the sideline,” Mr Curtain said.

He emphasised that the Marist-Western Suburbs club held no “sour grapes” from the result of the match— Papanui won, 27-10—which Mr Curtain said indicated the respective merits of the two sides.