They play a differenet game, Down Under!

BktBallRef · #1 (**permalink**) Thu May 09, 2002, 05:47am

From the "You Don't See That Every Day" file comes this delightful story from the wonderful world of Australian Rules Football:

Nibbling Nuts Costs Footballer Ten Weeks

Peter Filandia was suspended for 10 matches by the VFL Tribunal last night and ordered to have counselling before he can play again after being found guilty of biting an opponent's testicle.

It was one of the most unusual and bizarre cases to come before a football disciplinary tribunal. The tribunal said that Filandia had done "untold damage to the game of football" and it was something he would have to live with.

That ain't all he'll have to live with!

Filandia, the captain and assistant coach of Port Melbourne, was found guilty of biting Springvale's Chad Davis in Sunday's match at Port Melbourne. He pleaded guilty under provocation, saying his action was a result of panic when his head was caught in a scissors hold by Davis' legs.

If you've made it this far without falling from your chair in a fit laughter, stick around because it gets better.

Filandia said, "It was a split-second decision made in a state of panic - and I emphasise panic - to release his grip around my neck and mouth."

Davis received a small puncture mark and bruising over a two-centimetre area of his scrotum. Although aware at the time that he had been bitten, he was not aware of the bleeding until after the game. He was put on antibiotics and both players had blood tests.

It seems Filandia was attempting to ensure Aussie Rules was not "left behind" by competing code rugby league, so to speak. Last season Wests Tigers player John Hopoate was forced into temporary retirement after he was found guilty of conduct unbecoming by the NRL judiciary. The conduct in question? Inserting a digit up the arse of opposition players when he tackled them. Hopoate claimed it was intended to "unsettle" his opponents.

YUCK!! I wonder what Charlton Heston would have to say about that?

Jurassic Referee · #2 (**permalink**) Thu May 09, 2002, 10:22am

I wonder what signal the referee used for each one???

rockyroad · #3 (**permalink**) Thu May 09, 2002, 10:35am

I think having someone's finger up your arse would be VERY unsettling!! Maybe it's all the beer they drink down under - I don't know...maybe Oz can explain these things to us...then again - I'm not really sure I want an explanation...

RecRef · #4 (**permalink**) Thu May 09, 2002, 02:40pm

Thats what you get for playing football in shorts.

Mark T. DeNucci, Sr. · #5 (**permalink**) Thu May 09, 2002, 02:43pm

Quote:

Originally posted by RecRef
Thats what you get for playing football in shorts.

What else would you wear to play futbol if you didn't wear shorts.

Dan_ref · #6 (**permalink**) Thu May 09, 2002, 03:46pm

Quote:

Originally posted by BktBallRef

..."untold damage to the game of football"

Untold damage is right...to something...

Quote:

[i]
I wonder what Charlton Heston would have to say about that?

[/B]

"Don't eat the Soylent Green! It's people!"

rockyroad · #7 (**permalink**) Thu May 09, 2002, 04:02pm

I believe Charlton Heston would say -
"Get your hands off me you damn, stinking...." since ape wouldn't fit, you can fill in the blank with whatever comes to mind....

Dan_ref · #8 (**permalink**) Thu May 09, 2002, 04:22pm

Quote:

Originally posted by rockyroad
I believe Charlton Heston would say -
"Get your hands off me you damn, stinking...." since ape wouldn't fit, you can fill in the blank with whatever comes to mind....

If you've seen Aussie football you might agree that "ape"
fits just fine.

ChuckElias · #9 (**permalink**) Thu May 09, 2002, 06:41pm

I LOVE Australian Rules Football. It's really sad that ESPN2 never carries it anymore. Even FoxSports carries the NFL Europe instead of the AFL. You want action, scoring and real hitting, then you want Australian Football. And I'm being serious. And there's no huddles. That by itself makes it 20 times better than the NFL.

Chuck

BktBallRef · #10 (**permalink**) Thu May 09, 2002, 08:12pm

Quote:

Originally posted by ChuckElias
And there's no huddles. That by itself makes it 20 times better than the NFL.

And now you can add 2 more things that make it better!!

Dan_ref · #11 (**permalink**) Thu May 09, 2002, 09:20pm

Quote:

Originally posted by ChuckElias
I LOVE Australian Rules Football. It's really sad that ESPN2 never carries it anymore. Even FoxSports carries the NFL Europe instead of the AFL. You want action, scoring and real hitting, then you want Australian Football. And I'm being serious. And there's no huddles. That by itself makes it 20 times better than the NFL.

Chuck

Me too!

Oz Referee · #12 (**permalink**) Mon May 13, 2002, 10:11pm

What can I say? Every sport has it's psychos (aka Dennis Rodman's) and this guy is the one for AFL.

As far as some of the praise towards AFL - I took a couple of friends from the US to a game - two of which played college football (one a defensive tackle for Washinton State, the other a Tight End for Purdue). They thought that the guys that play AFL must be crazy - big hits, heaps of speed, a huge ground to play on and no helmets or padding!

As an aside - a similar incident happened last week in a South American soccer match - a player poked another player int he arse with his finger. The poked player retaliated and threw a puch - resulting in a send off. Interestingly, the player that instigated the problem will escape punishment because the league doesn't accept video evidence.

Mark T. DeNucci, Sr. · #13 (**permalink**) Mon May 13, 2002, 10:19pm

Quote:

Originally posted by ChuckElias
I LOVE Australian Rules Football. It's really sad that ESPN2 never carries it anymore. Even FoxSports carries the NFL Europe instead of the AFL. You want action, scoring and real hitting, then you want Australian Football. And I'm being serious. And there's no huddles. That by itself makes it 20 times better than the NFL.

Chuck

I agree with you Chuck about the action, scoring, and hitting, and it is a shame that ESPN does not carry ARF, because it is one of its signature sports from its early years. But I have seen ARF on FoxSports this past year.

Dan_ref · #14 (**permalink**) Mon May 13, 2002, 10:29pm

Quote:

Originally posted by Oz Referee
...
As an aside - a similar incident happened last week in a South American soccer match - a player poked another player int he arse with his finger. The poked player retaliated and threw a puch - resulting in a send off. Interestingly, the player that instigated the problem will escape punishment because the league doesn't accept video evidence.

Well, South American Soccer, we would expect that in
South American Soccer!

Oz Referee · #15 (**permalink**) Tue May 14, 2002, 12:55am

Quote:

Originally posted by Mark T. DeNucci, Sr.

Quote:

Originally posted by ChuckElias
I LOVE Australian Rules Football. It's really sad that ESPN2 never carries it anymore. Even FoxSports carries the NFL Europe instead of the AFL. You want action, scoring and real hitting, then you want Australian Football. And I'm being serious. And there's no huddles. That by itself makes it 20 times better than the NFL.

Chuck

I agree with you Chuck about the action, scoring, and hitting, and it is a shame that ESPN does not carry ARF, because it is one of its signature sports from its early years. But I have seen ARF on FoxSports this past year.

Mark - I hate to be picky, but what is ARF? The correct name is AFL (Australian Football League) or colloquially "Aussie Rules".