Fox blasts league violence

THE chairman of PNGNRL and the bemobile Cup Don Fox urged all coaches and managers to instill self-discipline into their players to accept and respect the authority of the referee.
Fox made this call following the disgraceful incident which happened in Port Moresby when referee James Kaupa was chased off the field allegedly by disgruntled Enga Miok supporters and was punched by a spectator at the sideline.
Kaupa suffered a bleeding nose and a split tongue during the assault.
“We all need to learn to support our referees and linesmen, as without them, the game cannot exist,” a disappointed Fox said.
He said what happened at the Lloyd Robson Oval in the last two minutes of play on Sunday was disgraceful and totally unacceptable.
“I apologise to the many thousands of good, loyal and law-abiding league fans on what occurred.
“I want apologise particularly to the referee, James Kaupa, who was punched by a spectator and to the families in attendance with children who had to witness the violence,” he said.
Players, captains and team managers, he said, must be held responsible for their team’s actions on the field, and Sunday’s incident was a real indication of that.
“When the Mioks players did not accept the referee’s decision and continued to dispute it, that’s where and when the trouble started.
“Players must learn to accept the referee’s decision and stop disputing and arguing with the authority and respect the referee’s decision.
“I urged all club management nationwide to immediately weed out of their team the persistent offenders, and we have many of them who continually dispute decisions and argue with referees. 
“I am serious, this senseless dissention, if not immediately stopped will continue to cause immense damage to our game which sadly, reflects on our people and our country, so players need to quickly change their attitude,” he said.
“Unless we put an immediate stop to dissention both on and off the field, we are on the road to self-destruction, and believe me, I will not allow this to happen,” Fox said.
The PNGNRL board will meet this week to discuss and make a decision on this ongoing issue in rugby league.