A RUGBY LEAGUE match was suspended after a fan punched a 15-year-old player.
The Auckland Rugby League under-16s fixture between the Otara Scorpions and Manurewa Marlins was marred by the incident.
A fan in a blue top walked onto the field to confront a playerX formerly Twitter / @mmmmaggy
He appeared to swing his fist at the player’s headX formerly Twitter / @mmmmaggy
The player managed to move out of the way of the punchX formerly Twitter / @mmmmaggy
Footage has shown a man walking onto the field and throwing a punch at the Scorpions player.
Fortunately, the player was able to move out of the way and reduce the amount of contact made by the attack.
The father of the player has now called on social media to help him identify the fan.
He wrote: “Needing help identifying this piece of s*** in the blue/yellow/white top who thought it was OK to run on the field and blind shot my 15yr old son.
“Manurewa Marlins won’t give up his name, so I’m letting social media do its thing.”
The Marlins char Karla Matua argued that social media does “not always show the full context of the situation.”
She also claimed that they are “aware and have evidence to support this.”
Matua told New Zealand website Newshub: “Our priority has been to ensure our team and team management are safe mentally, physically and spiritually and we have wrapped support services around them.
“We are in positive dialogue with Otara RL and both clubs want the same thing, for our kids to be safe and those responsible are dealt with appropriately.
“We are following ARL (Auckland Rugby League) processes and look forward to positive outcomes for our kids and whānau [families].”
Otara Rugby League club general manager Willie Maea has insisted that they are trying to identify the spectator alongside the help of the Marlins.
The club will then bring the matter to the police once it is confirmed.
Maea said: “While the actions on the field were controlled by the referee, they don’t condone adults coming on the field.
“For us, we’re wanting to identify these men, charge them with assault and trespass them from this ground.”
The ARL have also released a statement on the incident and confirmed that the police would be involved.
It read: “ARL has zero tolerance for this type of violence and behaviour.
“We have judicial processes in place and when necessary, we will involve the police.
“This matter is now being managed by the police and we are unable to be commenting further.”