Manly fan spared life ban over Will Chambers confrontation
The NRL has handed down its punishment to the Manly fan who confronted Will Chambers during the Sea Eagles’ clash with Melbourne, sparking security fears at Brookvale Oval.
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The Manly Sea Eagles fan who was arrested at Brookvale Oval last weekend for confronting Storm centre Will Chambers in the players’ tunnel will be banned from attending games for two years.
The NRL, the Manly club and police have agreed on the disciplinary action after the fan apologised to the Sea Eagles for his actions when Chambers was sent to the sin bin during their clash with Melbourne on Saturday night.
The fan has a week to respond to the NRL integrity unit’s charge.
“The NRL has issued a preliminary Banning Notice to an individual involved in an incident at Saturday night’s match between the Manly Sea Eagles and Melbourne Storm,” a spokesman told The Daily Telegraph.
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“The spectator will now be given an opportunity to respond to the Banning Notice before any penalty is imposed.”
The spectator was restrained by security, handcuffed and removed from the ground by police, who have not charged him.
If the ban is imposed he would be banned for two years before he is allowed to apply to have the ban lifted.
The NRL integrity unit launched an investigation after the ugly incident marred the Storm’s 36-6 win over the Sea Eagles at the northern beaches suburban venue.
Coach Des Hasler apologised to Chambers after the game on behalf of the Sea Eagles.
The NRL has threatened to strip Lottoland of finals hosting rights unless Manly address security concerns after the Sea Eagles fan lashed out at Chambers.
The incident highlighted the shortcomings at the ground as a fan wearing a Manly jersey appeared to reach through the players’ tunnel to lash out at Chambers as the Storm centre left the field after being sin binned.
NRL CEO Todd Greenberg said that unless improvements were made to the venue in the next two weeks, the Sea Eagles would not be allowed to host a finals game at their spiritual home.
However, Manly chairman Scott Penn says the game has nothing to worry about in the future.