No red cards required –and great game ensued

JIM Fleming was the obvious choice to officiate a match with such explosive potential as the 1999 Scottish Cup semi-final between Gala and Melrose. With 26 years of refereeing experience under his belt at that point, he was by far Scotland’s most experienced front-line whistler. During his career he controlled 40 international matches and ran the line on 75 other occasions. There isn’t much the Boroughmuir man hadn’t had to deal with on a rugby pitch – but the ferocity of the punch-up which erupted after only three minutes of this fierce Borders derby took even this seasoned veteran aback.

“Everyone was involved,” he recalls. “I’ve been in the middle of a few bad tempered matches in my time, but I don’t think I’ve seen any of them flare up quite like that.

“When I went into the changing rooms before the match to check the studs, I could sense the tension and I knew something was going to happen, so it was a case of hoping that it happened sooner rather than later. That way everyone could get it out of their system and we could get on with the match.

“Sure enough, it didn’t take long and afterwards we got a cracking game of rugby – so I think it turned out pretty well.

“I had learnt my lesson during the World Cup quarter-final between Australia and Ireland in 1991 when someone punched Willie Ofahengaue and I waded in to try to break up the melee. I broke my finger that day and vowed never to get myself involved in that sort of situation again. My view from then on was to just let them get on with it, then take the appropriate action once everyone had calmed down – which is the way most referees deal with these sorts of situations nowadays.

“So, when it erupted in this match, I just stood back, folded my arms, and waited for it to blow over. Then I pulled over the chief culprits – I’m sure Nathan Hines was one of them – and laid down the law.

“There weren’t any sendings-off or repercussions after the game, partly because it was a different era when foul play was given more latitude, and partly because it was going to be very difficult to say who started it.

“The other thing I remember about that match was one of the players finding a pair of spectacles which had somehow been dropped on the pitch and handing them to me. I thought I might as well have a bit of fun, so I tried them on and then said: ‘No, they’re not mine.’ It was a really tight game and I suppose I was trying to lighten the mood.”