Samoan PM attacks ‘idiots’ in charge of Scotland Test

Published on 05/07/2012 00:00

SAMOA’S Prime Minister Tuilaepa Sailele has launched an astonishing attack on the officials who controlled Scotland’s Test match against his country last month.

He called them “idiots” and claimed during a broadcast on Samoa’s state-run radio that they had “an attitude of racial discrimination”.

The weekly Samoa News, based in Pago Pago, said Tuilaepa’s anger centred around an incident in the second half when a try by Samoan winger Paul Perez was disallowed after one of the assistant referees ruled that the ball had been carried out of play by a Scottish player before Perez picked it up and touched down for a try.

Samoa were in the ascendancy for much of the match but a last-minute try by Rob Harley and conversion from Greig Laidlaw gave victory to the Scots and completed a southern hemisphere clean sweep.

“There is still an attitude of racial discrimination which exists in these guys’ mentality because of the high standard of rugby Manu Samoa has achieved and can defeat top teams like this,” Samoa News reported Tuilaepa as saying.

“They think they know everything and then they send idiots to officiate an important game and one of them tries to convince us in broad daylight in our own country that the ball carrier had stepped out of the field with the ball when we can all see that he left the ball in the field before he was pushed outside the field.”

Tuilaepa, who is president of the Samoa Rugby Union, said they will have no more Manu Samoa games at Apia Park until the games can be televised “so that whoever is in charge of the referees and officials overseas can see for themselves how the games are officiated by the idiots they send over”.

He said he also wants a clock installed at Apia Park, adding: “If the siren sounds and the referee continues the match unnecessarily, then a rock hitting his head would be justified.”

During the World Cup last year, Samoan centre Sapolu Fuimaono found himself in hot water after he accused Welsh referee Nigel Owens on Twitter of bias and racism after his side’s 13-5 defeat at the hands of South Africa which put them out of the tournament.

He was handed a six-month ban by the International Rugby Board, although the sentence was suspended for two years.

Meanwhile, Glasgow Warriors prop Jon Welsh has undergone successful surgery on the shoulder injury that forced him to return early from Scotland’s summer tour.

The 25-year-old was operated on by Miss Julie McBirnie, a shoulder specialist at Spire Murrayfield Hospital, and has now begun his rehabilitation under the care of the Warriors medical team.

Welsh is expected to be unavailable for selection for a minimum of six months.

Head coach Gregor Townsend told www.glasgowwarriors.org: “It’s clearly disappointing for Jon and the club as a whole that he will miss a substantial amount of rugby in the first part of the season.

“He will receive excellent care and attention from our medical team as he recovers from the injury, and we look forward to welcoming him back to the fray in due course.

“On behalf of everyone at the club, I’d like to wish Jon all the best with his rehabilitation. He’s a positive character, which will stand him in good stead for the challenges ahead.”