Rugby fights ends up in court
AN Eastern Suburbs rugby player has been charged with maliciously inflicting grievous bodily harm on a Maccabi player after a trial match.
JOSHUA LEVI
AN Eastern Suburbs rugby player has been charged with maliciously inflicting grievous bodily harm on a Maccabi player after a trial match.
It is alleged that Anthony Beran, who was playing for the Easts third-grade colts side, punched 22-year-old Maccabi player Jonathan Levy in the face following the game on March 20.
Confirming that a 20-year-old Rose Bay man had been charged with maliciously inflicting grievous bodily harm, Rose Bay Police crime manager John Maricic said “At the conclusion of the match, whilst players were leaving the field, an Eastern Suburbs Rugby Club (ESRC) player assaulted a Maccabi Rugby Club (MRC) player by punching him in the face, resulting in serious facial injuries.”
Detective Inspector Maricic added: “It appears that as a result of this that a number of MRC players intervened and attempted to restrain the ESRC player, who was later taken to hospital suffering a fractured palate and dislodged his front teeth ‚Ķ There is some suggestion that the offender received a broken leg but that can not be confirmed.”
The incident was reported to Rose Bay Police and Beran is expected to appear at Waverley Local Court on Wednesday.
Detective Inspector Maricic said he does not believe there was any anti-Semitic motivation behind the alleged attack.
“There is no evidence to suggest that this incident is racially motivated or that the offender and the victim were involved in any on-field incident.
“Investigations are continuing with a number of persons still to be interviewed by police.”
Maccabi Rugby Club president David Greenstein said it was an unfortunate incident.
“This is a blight on an otherwise good name for rugby union,” Greenstein said. “It has the potential to tarnish our strong relationship with Easts, which we have been forging over the last couple of years.
“We play games at their grounds, use their facilities and launched our season at their clubhouse – I hope our relationship will not be compromised.”
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