Heathens petition against referee

By Johnson Were 

AFTER 10-5 defeat by Mongers on Saturday, a result that dented their chances of defending the Nile Special Premier Rugby League title, Heathens’ have petitioned Uganda Rugby Union (URU) over poor officiation by referee Joseph Kabaye.

They want action to be taken against the official. 

Coach Brian Tabaruka disclosed this in an interview after the game saying that such poor officiation can’t be left to continue because it will kill the standard of the game. 

“He made multiple mistakes and we are launching a compliant with the union over the poor officiation,” Tabaruka stated. 

“We respect the outcome of his decisions but we are protesting to the union to avoid such poor officiation in future,” Tabaruka stressed. 

Meanwhile, Uganda Rugby Referee society (URRS) vice chairman Richard Akena when contacted said that the referee as-signed was qualified enough to handle the game of that magnitude. He said he doubts that Kabaye was biased or made such mistakes as alleged. 

“Sometimes team managers and coaches misinterprete the rules and actually need refresher courses on the laws of the game but we shall get the referee assessor’s side and come up with a decision,” Akena stated. 

He urged Heathens to use the right forum while lodging their complaint. Akena stated that normally Heathens would appeal to the union when URRS has not responded to their plea, but rushing to the union straight undermines the procedure and integrity of the society.