Videos: Players suspended and parents barred after Pretoria rugby match brawl

While one side was fighting against relegation from the Virseker Noordvaal Cup division, another side was vying for a spot in the play-offs. However, it wasa fight of another sortthat unfortunately grabbed the headlines after the first-team clash between Die Hoërskool Menlopark and Hoërskool Dr E.G. Jansen on Saturday (August 1).

A few minutes into the second-half, with the score 36–5 to the Pretoria-based hosts, a fight broke out behind the goalposts, outside the playing enclosure. It allegedly involved players, spectators and parents. The match was abandoned.

Because minors are involved, the faces of those depicted in the videos have been blurred. A trusted source who asked not to be named told Caxton Network News the fight was allegedly sparked by a Menlopark Old Boy who told the Dr E.G. Jansen first-team players that they ‘must look at the scoreboard’.

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The source alleged that this prompted one of the players to jump over the barriers behind the in-goal area. However, inan updated statementreleased last night, the Boksburg-based school said that, according to the information it had received, one of its players was pulled over the barrier behind the goalposts and assaulted. It added that a physical altercation ensued, prompting parents of learners from Dr E.G.

Jansen to intervene to protect their children. The school alleged that alcohol use and racial slurs contributed to tensions on the sidelines before the altercation. It said these allegedly included the use of the k-word and comments that certain players ‘belong on a farm’.

According to the school, the remarks were directed at some of its black and coloured players. “Despite repeated attempts by staff and parents to defuse the situation, the hostility allegedly continued,” the statement reads. The school added that concerns about alcohol consumption among spectators were raised during the match, but alleged that the person who reported the matter was reprimanded rather than the situation being addressed.

The statement confirmed that the school had identified the learners involved and launched internal disciplinary proceedings. Riaan van Aswegen, the chairperson of Hoërskool Dr E.G. Jansen’s school governing body (SGB), told Caxton Network News this morning that the identified players have been suspended and the parents involved have been banned from future school events.

“They may not even set foot on the school grounds,” he added. Jansen is set to play another Pretoria-based school, Hoërskool Garsfontein, on Friday and Saturday. Van Aswegen said they were awaiting confirmation from the Virseker Noordvaal Cup committee on whether these matches would continue.

Meanwhile, Noordvaal committee chairperson Tinus Diedericks told Network News that a statement on the matter would be issued soon. He declined to comment on the new allegations and reiterated Noordvaal’s previous stance that officials would act once reports from both schools had been received. Meanwhile, Die Hoërskool Menlopark SGB chairperson Dr Japie de Wet released a statement noting ‘with dismay’ the allegations made by Hoërskool Dr E.G.

Jansen regarding the incident. De Wet stated that an investigation led by an independent chairperson is at an advanced stage. “All evidence considered so far – including statements from neutral match officials – indicates that the allegations of racist remarks are entirely without foundation,” he said.

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