Banned for 12 months for referee contact

Albany-Bayswater midfielder Liam Davenport has been slapped with a 12-month suspension after being found guilty of making contact with a referee in his side’s round 15 Great Southern Soccer Association men’s fixture against Caledonians on July 21.

Davenport received two yellow cards in the match and was subsequently sent off, but allegedly approached match referee Dave Brady to remonstrate as he left the field.

The three-man GSSA tribunal found Davenport guilty of making contact with a referee and banned him for 12 months, which is the minimum penalty that can be handed down for the charge.

Davenport admitted he was wrong to remonstrate with the umpire and denies making contact with him, but said he would cop the ban and move on

“I didn’t lay a finger on him,” the 27-year-old said.

“I went up to him, I shouldn’t have done that, but frustration just took over.

“I will take it on the chin, I’ll just deal with it … it wasn’t worth appealing.”

Albany-Bayswater had two days to appeal the suspension once it was handed down last Friday, but Davenport said he was not interested in playing again after his suspension is served.

“Soccer is different back home (in England),” he said.

“I just go in hard and I have been kind of victimised.

“Every decision is always against me.”

Davenport hails from Chester in England and has been in Australia for 13 months on a travelling visa.

He said he is not a dirty player and only has two red cards to his name in England.

GSSA president Garry Dibble said there was no room for such incidents in the game.

“We’re pushing fair play and there’s a code of conduct with your registration,” Dibble said.

“He’s (Liam) gone over the line, he’s been penalised and that is justified.

“You need to stamp this out and you can’t tolerate it so he has been penalised for his actions.”