Two parents in the Northern Cape have been banned for life from attending school and provincial rugby matches after they were found guilty of assaulting a teacher who was a referee at a game.
And a pupil from Daniëlskuil High School’s under-15 rugby team, who was also involved in the vicious assault on Christo Kemp, his subject teacher, was barred from playing in 24 games, eight of which were suspended provided he was not found guilty of assault again.
The two dads and the youngster were also found guilty of bringing the game into disrepute during disciplinary hearings convened by the Griqualand West Rugby Union (GWRU) on Thursday night.
Kat Swanepoel, the GWRU’s amateur manager, confirmed that another teacher from Kemp’s school, who coached the under -15 rugby team and was charged with verbally abusing him during the match, was found not guilty.
He said the disciplinary hearing of another teacher from Daniëlskuil High, the assistant coach of the under-15 team, who was also charged with assaulting Kemp, would be held next week.
On June 9, the grade 9 pupil was excluded from playing in 24 games — the maximum sanction prescribed by World Rugby regulations for under-15 players — for assaulting the teacher during the same match.
We hope the sanctions will send out a strong message to those who want to misbehave on the rugby field
— Kat Swanepoel, the GWRU’s amateur manager
The assault took place after a match between Daniëlskuil and Kathu High on May 28 after the two parents, the assistant coach and the two pupils were apparently infuriated by Kemp’s handling of the match.
He was in hospital for a week after the assault and was expected to return to class when schools reopen for the third term on July 19.
Swanepoel said the two parents did not express any remorse or apologise to Kemp.
“We hope the sanctions will send out a strong message to those who want to misbehave on the rugby field. Mr Kemp was battling emotionally and said that returning to school was going to be his biggest challenge.”
Kemp did not respond to media queries.
After the shocking incident, the GWRU introduced drastic new rules which included host schools and clubs having to safely escort referees from the field after matches.
Recently, the governing body of Northwood High in Durban banned a parent from attending sport matches for the rest of the year after he manhandled a schoolboy rugby player moments after the final whistle.
The parent grabbed a player from behind at an under-16A game between Northwood High and Kearsney College on April 30, with other spectators becoming involved in “pushing and shoving”.
The headmaster of Northwood High, Paul Viljoen, said the parent was “sanctioned and suspended” from all school-related activities, including sport activities, for the rest of the year.
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