Reports and testimonies fail to match

 

Teo Pellizzeri

September 5 2008

Shepparton News

A North Eastern Soccer League tribunal of misunderstandings and mistaken identities failed to reach a decision on a striking charge against Shepparton striker Stuart Vance last night.

Vance was answering a charge of striking Cobram's Ahmed Al-Mugotir after being shown a red card in Shepparton's 3-0 win in round 20.

The league's leading scorer will automatically miss Shepparton's qualifying final against Cobram Victory this weekend, and must wait to see if any additional penalty will see him miss further finals.

Tribunal chairman Gordon Porter re-adjourned Vance's hearing to next Thursday after concluding that evidence was needed in person from the referees to reach natural justice.

Al-Mugotir was having his own charge of striking Vance heard concurrently and will do so again in next week's hearing.

Vance and Al-Mugotir were both red-carded after a brawl between Cobram and Shepparton players.

After hearing evidence from Cobram representative Angelo Ballerini, Shepparton president Chris Davkovski, Shepparton coach Andy Ingham and Vance himself, Porter concluded that the referees' evidence was required.

Despite referees' representative Paul Amadei providing a written statement on behalf of the officials, it is now likely that central referee Nick Mete and his assistants Greg Anderson and Vescio Minotti will have to provide evidence in person.

Ballerini told the tribunal that although Vance was struck by a Cobram player, it was not Al-Mugotir.

When pressed on which Cobram player had in fact struck Vance, Ballerini said he did not know.

Vance said his involvement in the brawl was dragging 16-year-old teammate Papi Mukasa away from the confrontation, during which time he was struck by a player not fitting Al-Mugotir's description.

Vance then said he went to ground and was fallen on by a teammate, not getting back up until the brawl had petered out.

However, the referees' report stated Vance and Al-Mugotir had their own tete-a-tete away from the main brawl, throwing a number of punches at each other.