Samoa’s Sapolu suspended
4 Oct 2011
The IRB has suspended Samoa centre Eliota Sapolu Fuimaono from all rugby because he failed to appear at a judicial hearing.
Sapolu Fuimaono had labelled Owens ‘a biased and racist prick’ after his side’s 13-5 World Cup Pool D loss to South Africa on Friday and was ordered to appear at a hearing on Tuesday.
‘The judicial officer determined that due to the players failure to attend the hearing he would adjourn the case to an appropriate time when he would face the charges against him,’ the tournament organisers said in a statement.
‘Pending the holding of such hearing he ordered that Sapolu Fuimaono be provisionally suspended from all participation in the game of rugby union.’
Sapolu Fuimaono, in a television interview, appeared on New Zealand 3 on Tuesday and said no one had contacted him personally. He admitted he would not have gone in any case because he did not believe in the justice of the process.
The IRB said all efforts were made to inform Sapolu Fuimao of the hearing.
Repetitive efforts from the Samoan Rugby Union (SRU) to contact Fuimaono Sapolu have failed.
In the television interview the player stood by his tweets and his view that Owens favoured the Springboks.
‘We you are treated like shit (by the IRB). Why can’t I have a crack. With everything that has gone on …. I am pointing out injustice,’ said Sapolu Fuimao who has a degree in Law and Commerce from the University of Auckland.
62 Comments
Pages: « 1 [2] Show All
4 Oct 2011, 17:17 pm
Agree with his points, even with regards to the reffing, completely.
We should have been penalised in the manner we contested the loose ball. The Samoans were not given a fair ref performance. Anyone who has the faintest idea about the rules of the game will know that.
However the ref was pathetic in not controllling the match for us, there were at least 3 yellow card offences. IMO the ref let SA get away with ruck bizarreness because he had no idea how to control the Samoans.
Lets not just blame Owens, what about the two touchies – they would have seen as much. It seems the game got away from the refs. in my opinion it did so because the Bokke did not retaliate, which usually provides an ‘in’ for the refs.
4 Oct 2011, 19:05 pm
@Atreides(Atreides)-1:
and YOU are happy to label THEM as the ‘Moans’ ?!
precious 2-faced self-serving nonsense.
@Gunther(gunther)-7:
“failed to appear at the judicial hearing”
which is about Stage 1 of the Insolence Levels shown by the Boks in 2009 after the disgraceful Justice4 illustration of Sheer Arrogance, a match involving 2 incidents of far greater violence (injury-causing flying-headbutt and an eye-gouge).
The Samoans still have Level 2 – ‘Refusal to pay IRB Fine” and Level 3 – “allowing an Unofficial Supporters Club to pay the IRB Fine” to go to match the Boks.
or, as Maljan put it succinctly:-
“Just shows once again their (Boks) attitude and lack of discipline.”.
@hendrikp(hendrikp)-17:
“17.hendrikp:
4 Oct 2011, I don’t think I’ve ever seen anything so childish and pathetic in professional rugby. At least not since Rudolf Straueli.”
ah yes, such short short memories. Much harder to remember back to 2009 than it is, say, 2003 huh ?!
or, as Premenstrual at Dawn so succinctly put it of Justice4 as recent as 2009
“27.Great White Shark:
4 Oct 2011, 10:54 am Arrogance and ignorance.”
I agree, Premenstrual.
@Atreides(Atreides)-36:
so now youre advocating violence whilst claiming to be shocked at what you perceive to be ‘dirty play’ in the same breath ?
self-serving 2-faced pricks.
4 Oct 2011, 19:23 pm
@hendrikp(hendrikp)-11:
The language Fuimoano used on Twitter was greatly inappropriate. However in the studio, he was eloquent enough to explain his viewpoint and his principles were in the right place with good intentions.
Unlike Justice4 and Bok Nation.
4 Oct 2011, 20:55 pm
blackpanty sounds genuinly irritated.
probably realised how pathetic his headhunter cannibla tjommie sounds lmao!
4 Oct 2011, 21:30 pm
Black pantie, you take yourself way too seriously. Life is too short for your levels of anguish about inconsequential nonsense. Seriously, chill out.
4 Oct 2011, 22:45 pm
He said somewhere he only wanted to give the next generation of Samoan players a fair go or something to that extent … Well he’s just gone and f’d things up for the whole team.
He’s arguments don’t even make much sense he is the epitome of a sore loser
Apparently he is aLao a solicitor I hope he’s a good one coz his rugby career is over
4 Oct 2011, 22:46 pm
Sapolu’s mad Twitter rant will do more than 1000 tactful and respectful letters of complaint formally addressed to the pompous assembled Colonel Blimps of the IRB. Tier 2 nations won’t get a 4 day turnaround at RWC2015.
4 Oct 2011, 22:46 pm
*he’s = his
*aLao= also
5 Oct 2011, 01:49 am
@rangerman(rangerman)-18: “hell, you cant find a kiwi who saw ONE incident of foul play by the thugs”. You are right. I never saw any eyes getting gouged, or heads being butted from behind, or guys getting knocked unconscious by a late hit with a ‘reinforced’ arm protector. Didn’t see any of those things IN THIS GAME. The Boks might have cleaned up their act this year, but there are a few players in that team that have a much ‘dirtier’ record than the Samoans displayed.
What I did see in that game was plenty of very hard hits, including some that were marginal in technique and obviously designed to hurt. You see the same thing watching Polynesian players on the local rugby fields every winter Saturday. That is probably why most Kiwi’s wouldn’t ‘notice’ the hits in the SA game. It is a bunch of guys trying to be a Jerry Colins, or a Jerome Kaino etc, but without the much cleaner technique that those guys had coached into them. For them it is part of the way they play. Doesn’t make it right, but to them it is not ‘dirty’, just playing ‘hard’ the way they have always played. On the other hand, they would also consider eye gouging, head butting etc as not belonging in the game.
5 Oct 2011, 06:39 am
@>^..^< katman(katman)-55:
You would think our kiwi cousins would be happier right now?
According to a Durex survey they are having more *** because of the world cup.
Its the best world cup ever!
5 Oct 2011, 09:19 am
@Black Panther(Black Panther)-52: Lol you getting a bit rattled there panty? The nerves getting to you?
5 Oct 2011, 10:34 am
@Gunther(gunther)-60: Forget winning or losing, I think hosting the damn thing has just stressed them out as a nation. Not really worth it then.
Pages: « 1 [2] Show All
Have your say
You must be logged in to post a comment.