The Canberra Raiders have cancelled the membership of one of their members following an incident at halftime yesterday at GIO Stadium.
The Member will have his membership revoked for 12 months, following the incident involving match official Ashley Klein as he left the ground for halftime during the Raiders v Panthers.
At half time as the teams and officials left the field, the member came to the northern side of the players tunnel and was reported to have been abusive and to have spat at the referee.
The individual was identified immediately and removed by Security and Police and excluded from the venue, who confirmed he cooperated with their request.
The Raiders have received the official report from GIO Stadium security and have passed the information and the clubs sanction on to the NRL.
Raiders CEO Don Furner said the member involved in the incident contacted the club last night following the game to express remorse, which was considered when handing down the penalty.
“The member involved in the incident yesterday sent the club a letter within hours of the game and has expressed remorse and has taken responsibility for his actions,” Furner said. “The Raiders will not tolerate anti-social behaviour at home matches and pride ourselves on providing a safe environment for families to attend our games.
“We believe 12 months is a sufficient penalty for the incident and we will review his membership application after this time has expired. From what we understand from further discussions with the member and his family, this was out of character and he is genuinely sorry for his actions.”
The Raiders will be making no further comment.
