Fan dead

PAPUA New Guinea’s number one sport — rugby league — needs to find a solution to address the endemic nature of violence in the code after the death of Joe Pidik last Thursday in Port Moresby.
Pidik, from Watom Island, East New Britain, succumbed to a serious head injury five days after being struck by a brick thrown by an unknown assailant minutes after the Digicel Cup preliminary final between the Hagen Eagles and the Agmark Gurias ended at the Sir John Guise Stadium, just over a week ago (Aug 27).
The father-of-one was rushed to the Port Moresby General Hospital, where doctors performed emergency brain surgery to reduce haemorrhaging (bleeding) to save his life but the 23-year-old was left in a comatose state until his death on Thursday.
The Port Moresby Betting Shop employee was travelling in a company truck with other workers – some of whom were in Gurias colours – in the course of their regular weekend duties when they were confronted by an angry mob of Eagles fans, who threw stones and other objects at them in an unprovoked attack less than 100m from the company’s front gate.
Port Moresby Betting Shop manager Jamie Pang, pictured, said the company was shocked and saddended by the tragedy and he used a meeting with Agmark Gurias players, who visited the company premises last Friday, to meet Pidik’s family as well as his co-workers, to call on rugby league administrators to take the issue of violence seriously.
“Joe died as a result of violence which started on the field during the game and after the referee was assaulted,” Pang, who confirmed the matter had been referred to the police, said.
“The ripple effect flowed on and an innocent man, who was heading home after work, was killed by a senseless act of violence.”
“We have to learn something from this tragedy, from Joe’s death. There is a lesson to be learned here. There is too much violence in sport in this country.
“We have to learn to accept losses. We all can’t win all the time. If you lose, accept it and try again next year.
“Train harder and improve and you will win.”
A distraught Port Moresby Betting Shop owner James Pang mirrored his son Jamie’s sentiments ,saying rugby league needed to re-evaluate itself and take steps to remove violence from the sport.
A family member of the Pidiks, who did not wish to be named, said violence had become an accepted part of sport in PNG but he did not expect people to be so hateful in their conduct.
“We’ve seen violence in sport over the years here,” he said.
“It’s not new. These days people are taking things out of context. It has become very personal. I never thought we would get to this stage. Joe is a casualty of this thing that I can only describe as utter nonsense. It is against the spirit of sport. People are driven by envy, malice and it’s unacceptable.”
The Gurias team led by coach Steven Nightingale and Hunters coach Michael Marum along with Pidik family members visited the Port Moresby General Hospital morgue to view the body and pay their respects, with the players represented by co-captains Nelson Daplen and Samuel Hamari exprerssing their condolences and pledging to honour the Pidik by wearing black arm bands as well as observing a minute’s silence during the final the following day.
The Gurias lost 14-8 to the Tigers in the grand final yesterday but coach Nightingale refused to blame the loss on isues outside of the game.
“I don’t think there’s any excuses. We did well to get this far. It just wasn’t our day,” Nightingale said.
The late Pidik had been employed as a plummer on the Betting Shop’s property and maintainence crew for 15 months and is survived by wife Valencia and infant son Torot.
His body will be repatriated by his employer to Kimbe, West New Britain, where the family is based.
The PNG National Rugby League board, which met last Friday in Port Moresby to decide the sanctions and penalties for the Eagles franchise in the aftermath of the violence instigated by them, may now need to revise their initial plans for punitive measures against the Western Highlands franchise and trainer Stanley Akinu, who attacked referee Aaron Henry after the Eagles lost 19-12 to the Gurias on that fateful day.