Teen referee ‘punched’ at junior rugby league match in Engadine

A junior rugby league trainer who allegedly punched a 16-year-old referee during am under 12s game in Sydney has been suspended and banned from all junior rugby in the Sutherland Shire.

Kurt Portsmouth, 16, was taken to hospital by ambulance after allegedly being punched in the face.

A junior rugby league trainer who allegedly punched a 16-year-old referee during am under 12s game in Sydney has been suspended.

Cronulla Junior Rugby League general manager Nathan Waugh says the trainer has been stood down immediately and banned from all rugby league grounds in the Sutherland Shire.

The 34-year-old trainer will appear in Sutherland Local Court on Wednesday and a rugby league judiciary hearing at a date to be set.

Kurt Portsmouth, 16, suffered facial injuries after the alleged attack.

NSWRL CEO Dave Trodden said such behaviour had no place in any junior sport.

“The protection of our referees is paramount and we can’t, and won’t, tolerate any behaviour that puts into question the safety and protection of our match officials,” he said in the statement. The incident occurred when the teenage ref ruled the trainer’s son be replaced after an incident during the game.

The teenager ref suffered bruising and was taken to hospital to be checked out after allegedly being punched in the face by the trainer after requesting the trainer’s son be replaced on the field.

Police were called to Anzac Oval in Engadine about 1pm after the 34-year-old allegedly lashed out at 16-year-old referee, Kurt Portsmouth, in an under-12Cs match between the Engadine Dragons and Gymea Gorillas.

The 34-year-old is a trainer for the Gymea team and was this afternoon charged with assault occasioning actual bodily harm.

The altercation occurred after Kurt ruled that one of the Gymea players, the trainer’s son, be replaced after lashing out at an opposing player with his foot.

Players can’t be sent off in junior rugby league matches. Instead, the referee can order they be subbed out and replaced by a bench player.

The trainer is alleged to have lashed out at Kurt after he made the call.

Sources said the trainer allegedly punched the teen in the face, leaving him with bruising on the face.

Kurt, a Year 10 student at De La Salle College, was taken to the Sydney Children’s Hospital at Randwick as a precautionary measure because he suffered from a brain tumour four years ago.

He is undergoing a number of tests.

In moving scenes, Kurt was given a standing ovation by spectators as he was wheeled away by paramedics on a stretcher.

Police were called to the ground and the 34-year-old was taken to Sutherland police station, where he was later charged.

He was given conditional bail to appear before Sutherland Local Court on Wednesday, June 22.

Kurt featured in The Sunday Telegraph less than three months ago as part of a trial in which referees in junior matches would wear Go-Pro cameras during games to protect themselves against abusive parents.

Kurt Portsmouth, 16, is a junior rugby league referee who trialled Go-Pro cameras during matches.

The 10-week trial was part of the NSW Rugby League’s comprehensive Respect Campaign in response to the loss of one in nine match officials from the game as a direct result of physical abuse and violence.

Kurt’s father Scott Portsmouth said his son was not wearing a camera at the time of the incident.

“I’ve been involved in Cronulla rugby league for 35 years and I’ve never seen anything like this,” Mr Portsmouth said.

“The crowd just groaned and I ran out on to the field to be with my son.”