GRAEME Sword, the Dundee squash internationalist accused of assaulting
an official during a league match in January, has been banned for 30
days by the Scottish Squash Rackets Association.
The suspension, which will take effect from the start of the next
league season, and include all events under the auspices of the SSRA,
means that Sword will be sidelined for at least four of Forthill's
crucial early-season matches.
It would appear, however, that the SSRA's disciplinary committee are
not convinced about Sword's alleged assault, and accordingly have based
their sentence on the lesser charge of bringing the game into disrepute.
In their opinion, Sword was guilty of subjecting the referee to
persistent verbal abuse, but in the absence of any reliable
eyewitnesses, the more serious assault charge could not be proven. It
would seem, therefore, that they had no option but to err on the side of
leniency.
The disciplinary committee's task was not easy. Conflicting stories as
to what actually happened on the night of Forthill's home match against
Snooker and Squash, confused the issue and in the absence of a
comparable incident in the past, no precedent in terms of disciplinary
action was available.
Jason Yarrow has had double cause for celebration this week having
been named the Tennent's LA Scottish League Player of the Year, as well
as being included in the Scottish team for the world under-19
championships in Germany from July 28 to August 16.
The 18-year-old Bridge of Allan youth, who received the first Player
of the Month Award back in October, will accompany Martin Heath (Oban),
Peter Nicol (Inverurie) and Todd Rutherford (Edinburgh) to the world
event in which Scotland finished seventh in Edinburgh two years ago.
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