Rugby referees Pradeep and Gamini banned

Two referees Pradeep Fernando and Gamini Indrasena were banned by the executive committee of the Sri Lanka Society of Rugby Football Referees (SLSRFR)at a meeting held at Havelock Sports Club on Thursday after they received the report of the three member commitee appointed by SLSRFR. Pradeep Fernando was banned for a period of one year for poor refereeing in the Royal - Isipathana Rugby match which ended abruptly at Royal Sports Complex on May 18. Referee Gamini Indrasena was given a suspension for two weeks also due to poor refereeing of the match between St.Peter's and Science College played at Bambalapitiya.

Touch judges of the Royal Isipathana match Dimitri Gunasekera and Mahesh Senanayake were also banned for one week after taking into consideration that they had brought to the notice of the referee about the unwarranted acts by the Isipathana players which had been ignored by the referee.

After viewing the video footage of the match , the committee accepted that the refereeing of Pradeep Fernando left much to be desired turning a blind eye to alleged punching and kicking of Royal players by the opponents.

Meanwhile, the final decision on the Royal - Isipathana match will be announced today by the Sri Lanka Schools Rugby Football Association after a disciplinary committee meeting at Kingswood College,Kandy presided over by its president Ranjith Chandrasekara.