Wesley College shot in the back by referees

 By R. David

The supporters of Wesley College are a great deal agitated as they sense they were robbed of victory in at least three matches. 

The parents are wondering what they have to do next. The child feels cheated and faces a mental strain as they are robbed of victory and cannot explain about fair play, and have to counsel them at home and fear negative behaviour.

We know how the boy dreams about playing for the first XV from his U-14 days. When they finally make it there and give their 100%, the psychological reaction is complex for parents to handle. 

The law of Pieris is to change a red card to yellow, as has happened and is an indication of disregard for the game. 

They understand the request for clarification and explanations ignored by the Sri Lanka Society of Rugby Football Referees. Their complaints to the Sri Lanka Schools Rugby Football Union have received a lukewarm response. 

Parents are in the process of seeking advice on the possibility of pursuing action based on child abuse and are denied a fair expectation when children participate in sports. 

The parents and supporters cite three incidents of incorrect referee decisions that have affected Wesley College. 

Wesley vs Isipathana (2 July) 

In this match, Referee Raveen Alexander issued a yellow card to Wesley player Shaveen Jayawardena for a deliberate knock-on and a red because that was the second yellow. 

The School Rugby Football Association, at a Meeting, accepted that the first yellow card to Jayawardena was incorrect as it was to the wrong player. Furthermore, Jayawardena was not close to the breakdown where there was an incident of a player going to the ground.

Sources involved in Rugby at Wesley complained to CT that incompetent refereeing impacted their defeat as Jayawardena was a key player. 

There were two issues of Dangerous Play (a tip tackle and a deliberate charge), which should end with a send-off to a green player.

There was no penalty in both cases of severe foul play. In contrast, the referee repeatedly gave the Wesley player yellow cards and red.

St. Peters vs Wesley (25 July) 

In the 70th minute, there was a line-out, and the throw was very crooked. Still, Referee Weranga played on as confirmed by the broadcast and St Peters College scored to draw the game. The wrong decision postponed Wesley’s chances till the next game. That had a significant mental effect on the young schoolboys. 

 Wesley vs St. Josephs (Knockout 4 September)

The match was a draw at full time. The game went to extra time. Wesley put pressure on Joe’s players off a kick collected in St. Joseph’s territory as they collected the ball and scored. 

The referee (Raveen Alexander) returned to a call by the Assistant Referee, who put out his flag long after the Joes were put under pressure and reported to the referee, who penalised Wesley and denied them a try.  

In the eighth minute of extra time, a Wesley player was penalised for a no-hands/dangerous tackle, as reported by the Assistant Referee. The penalty should have been on the spot. The penalty was where the ball landed around 20 m in front. Therefore, it was closer to the goal line. In the ensuing play, close to the goal line and a penalty, Joes won the match.