THE LEAGUE CODE

New Zealand Herald, Volume LXXVI, Issue 23426, 16 August 1939, Page 9

THE LEAGUE CODE

CONFLICT BETWEEN RULES ABANDONMENT OF MATCHES The necessity for clarifying the position regarding tho right of a referee to call, off a matjch, in view of the conflict of ruleu on the point in the constitutions of the Referees* Association and the junior management com : mittee, was stressed by Mr. I. Stonex at a meeting of the Auckland Rugby League b junior board last evening. He said the referees claimed that they were sole judges as to whether a ground was fit to be played on, while the junior management rule prescribed that a match could be played provided tho two opposing captains were agreeable. * 1, . . . _ It was reported that on Saturday two cantains had agreed to play, but in bpite of that the referee had called off a game.Mr Short, for the Referees Association, said he understood that the control ' board had given a ruling that the game, had / to. be started before the referee could abandon P Thfi secretary of the junior management, Mr V. F Clarke, said that the referees had too much power under their own rule, because they could call a game off on very Rliffkt pretext. If this sort of. .thing was allowed to continue the competitions might S VV.°« d SiS' to iritis Iho matter under Nortbcol."™" 1 Birkenhead Rover, senior B and third grade teams were granted ocrmission to visit Whangarei at an .early date! provided the draw in the, grades SU The' R.V. club withdrew its senior B team owing to illness and injuries among its players. "