Charged with emotion

Press, 17 July 1980, Page 1

Charged with emotion

The incident shduld mot affect the relationship tween the New' Zealand and Fiji rugby union. This was the- ■view- of the chairman of the Fiji •Rugby Union '(Mr, ; Barry Sweetman), who . said:’ he would hate to think the ending of the match would harm the harmonious relationship which >. already existed.

The Nadroga side had befen “charged with emotion" before the match; Once on the field, some of the players had become frustrated with Mr Jepsen’s refereeing. “They felt they were ' not getting a fair go from the referee. There was a great deal of frustration

among the Nadroga play- : er?,' which showed at the finish,” Mr Sweetman said. He could not condone the behaviour . of .the crowd but it was common for spectators in the Lau,toka area to run on to the pitch when fights broke . out. Mr Jepsen will be one of the two referees whom the • New Zealanders will be able to chose from to' control the international against the Fijian side at Suva on July 23. The other man will be Mr Sefania Kardi who will control the All Blacks’ match against Suva on Saturday. Mr Sweetman was full of praise for the way in

which the police had been able to handle the crowd once they had invaded the pitch. At the after-match function, Mr Jepsen admitted to being just a little concerned about his personal safety when he was escorted from the ground by the police and a fellow referee. • . < Four persons who were at the match were in police custody it was reported last evening. They would be charged in the Magistrate’s Court at Lautoka today with being drunk and disorderly, a police spokesman said. Match report, Back page