Rugby official is banned for headbutting fan from Edinburgh

A RUGBY match official has been banned from the sport for two and a half years for head-butting an Edinburgh fan.
The game was taking place at Adrossan Accies ground. Picture: GoogleThe game was taking place at Adrossan Accies ground. Picture: Google
The game was taking place at Adrossan Accies ground. Picture: Google

Alan Anderson was on duty as assistant referee at a National League match when the incident happened.

Anderson, a former captain of host club Ardrossan Accies, assaulted the man who had travelled from Edinburgh to support Murrayfield Wanderers.

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And Scottish Rugby Union disciplinary chiefs have suspended him for 130 weeks.

A statement from the ruling body said Anderson had been prohibited from “rugby officiating and/or administration, coaching playing and/or any on-field activities and holding any office of any description.”

The bust-up happened on October 7 at Ardrossan’s Memorial Field ground in Ayrshire.

A Wanderers spokesman declined to comment on the outcome of the hearing.

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But he confirmed that the head-butt victim - believed to be related to a Wanderers player - did not require hospital treatment and that the police were not involved. He did, however, sustain a broken nose.

In the tightly contested National League Division Three match, Wanderers emerged winners by 19-15. No one from Ardrossan Accies was available for comment.

The club have also deleted all details of the match from their website.

In the lower divisions of the National League, a neutral referee is appointed for every match, while each club nominates an assistant to judge when the ball is put of play and the accuracy of kicks at goal.