A NSW footballer has confirmed he’s ready to go to the Supreme Court in his battle to have a 20-year ban overturned.
Matt Nean, a former bush footy participant from Group 4 membership West Tamworth Lions, was handed the punishment after being discovered responsible of intentionally shouldering the referee throughout his workforce’s grand ultimate loss to North Tamworth in 2016.
He was charged with opposite conduct and provided an 18-week suspension. His determination to battle the cost noticed the ban prolonged to 20-years when the judiciary panel discovered him responsible.
Nean was considered one of seven Lions gamers despatched off by referee James Brown within the farcical decider that was referred to as off 10 minutes early by match officers after the Lions had been decreased to 6 gamers.
Nean’s brother Sean was handed a suspended jail sentence for his actions in the course of the spiteful contest.
Sean Nean was banned for 30 years by the Group 4 judiciary after being discovered responsible of headbutting a rival participant and making contact with Brown’s head.
Matt Nean, nonetheless, now claims he by no means meant to make contact with Brown and new imaginative and prescient of the incident has emerged showing to assist his argument.
According to The Sydney Morning Herald, Nean’s legal professionals earlier this yr requested the NSWRL to evaluate its verdict.
The NSWRL has refused.
His case has returned to the headlines this week on the again of video of the incident coming to mild.
Journalist Angus Thomson was first to share two totally different movies of the incident.
There has been a groundswell of assist for Nean on social media because the video was posted just lately. It reveals the contact made between Nean and Brown was incidental and was solely made when the referee held his arm out whereas awarding a penalty.
Nean has instructed SBS he needs the ban overturned so he can see his kids play the game and work in direction of teaching junior individuals sooner or later.
His ban outlaws him from having any involvement within the sport on an official foundation.
He says he has been instructed to go away venues beforehand when watching his kids play.
“That’s the thing that breaks me the most. When I get told I can’t even spectate, it takes a toll. Not only on me but on my kids and my partner,” he stated.
“My whole family has been affected by this.”
He has now confirmed to 9.com.au that he’s ready to take his problem to the Supreme Court.
“It has shattered me,” Nean stated.
“When they said 20 years I thought it was a joke… I soon realised it wasn’t.
“I cried that whole night.
“Even at the judiciary, the referee wanted to change the charge against me from ‘shoulder charge’ to ‘incidental contact’ but was told he couldn’t.
“They wouldn’t let me use the video, which showed I just accidentally brushed past him (the referee).
“The deadline for an appeal is getting close and we have tried every avenue to get the ban overturned or reduced.
“The Supreme Court seems my last chance. I don’t want to take that sort of action but it seems I have no other choice.”
During the problem of the primary ban in 2016, Country Rugby League boss Terry Quinn stated: “There is an absolute zero tolerance through the game at all levels for this sort of offence, whether it be physical contact or verbal abuse of our match officials.
“In the case of Matt Nean, you are talking about a repeat offender who had only just returned from serving a long suspension for a similar offence.
“It is indefensible conduct that deserves the harshest of penalties.”
The Nean brothers had been additionally despatched off within the 2015 grand ultimate. Matt Nean was handed a 14 week ban and had solely performed three matches in the course of the 2016 season earlier than being despatched of within the grand ultimate.
Matt was discovered responsible of verballing abusing and threatening a contact choose after initially being sin-binned in the course of the 2015 sport.
He is now determined to get one ultimate probability within the sport he loves.