FOOTBALL ROWDYISM.

New Zealand Mail, Issue 1746, 23 August 1905, Page 41

FOOTBALL ROWDYISM.

Last football season, when the Rugby game seemed in imminent danger of degenerating into a school of rowdyism where men might fight without risk of being prosecuted for assault or breach of the peace, we entered a strong protest against the official laxity that allowed such deplorable exhibitions to take place. Nearly all the newspapers of the colony joined in the protest, and the chorus of condemnation ought to have satisfied those responsible for the regulation of football that either the rowdyism would have to> be suppressed, or the game would lose its place in the public estimation. As a matter of fact, most of the Rugby unions accepted the warning, and set about cleaning the game. The Wellington Union is entitled to a great deal of credit for the results of its determination, but the Wellington Union has still playing under its banner men who are a disgrace to the colours, and the Wellington Union knows it. The committee of the union, however, is in a peculiar position. The delegates from the various clubs have absolutely refused to give the full power required to put a stop to brutal play on the local grounds. Members of the committee, knowing the difficulty referees have in detecting foul play while following the ball, wished authority to be given to other officers of the union, who were on the touchlines, to report cases of brutality or foulness that may escape the referee’s eye; but the clubs would not agree to this. The consequence is that, although there has been some improvement, there are men still playing who should not be playing, and the probabilities are that these men will go on playing until referees are given the, assistance they evidently require. For example, during the course of a match on Saturday week, there were instances of real brutal play, and one man deliberately struck with his clenched fist three or four times at an opponent. The first blow aimed was tha “ la blanche,” which, even in legitimate fighting rules, is a foul, and it just missed the face of the player for whom it. was intended. The referee was complained to by the player who had come under the displeasure of his antagonist on the field, and the controller of the game said he did not see the blows aimed'. The game, it may be said, was a very hard one between two first-class teams, but there was no necessity for the unsportsmanlike methods often employed, and it was no matter for surprise that the crowd hmvWl several times for men to be nut

off the ground. The referee on the occasion was a gentleman who is one of the very best controllers in the colony, but a man requires a hundred eyes to watch everything that goes on in a football match ; and until power is given to responsible officers to report from the touchline, there are some players who will defeat a referee all day long. It is to be hoped that the Wellington Rugby Union will not relax its efforts to cleanse the game of improper practices, and will continue to deal drastically with players who offend.