A member of the Manly-Warringah Sea Eagles coaching staff has been issued a 20-month ban for his role in an alleged brawl that erupted at an Under-16s match at Canberra’s Belconnen Oval on Saturday.
Jay Younis, an assistant coach with the Sea Eagles’ Harold Matthews Cup side, has until Tuesday to challenge the hefty suspension proposed by the New South Wales Rugby League on Wednesday afternoon.
If convicted, Younis won’t be permitted to act in an official role in rugby league until October 9, 2023.
NSWRL handed down breach notices to three Harold Matthews Cup players and a female spectator for their roles in the incident.
NSWRL proposes the spectator be banned from attending NSWRL matches for the remainder of 2022.
One of the players has been banned until May 31, another has been banned for four matches, while the third has received a two-match suspended sentence.
Like Younis, the spectator and three players have until Tuesday 5pm AEDT to challenge the breach notices.
A statement from NSWRL said chief executive David Trodden was “appalled” by the conduct of those involved.
“We have zero tolerance for behaviour that threatens the safety of participants, officials and spectators and incidents like these are contrary to the standards of any community sport,” Trodden said.“We have a duty to eradicate this sort of behaviour from our game, so that those who play and/or attend community sport can enjoy it and do so without any concerns or fears.“Some of the recent crowd behaviour is criminal behaviour and if people behave that way, they should expect to be dealt with by the Police in accordance with the criminal law, rather than by our Code of Conduct committee.“In addition, we will review all of our grounds to ensure that ground set-up minimises possible interaction between players and spectators, as well as ensuring that appropriate security arrangements are in place.”
The NSWRL has notified police of a separate incident that unfolded in the crowd at a junior representatives match in Penrith over the weekend.
No players or coaching staff were involved in the alleged brawl, which broke out at BlueBet Stadium on Saturxjmtzywday.
The Penrith Panthers are assisting police with their investigation of the matter, but charges have not yet been laid.
