Footy player who was banned for 20 YEARS for brushing up against referee fights to clear his name
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People Get Less For Murder: Soccer Player Who Was Banned For 20 YEARS For Cooling Off With Referee Fights To Clear His Name, Even If It Means Going To The Supreme Court
- Tamworth NSW football player banned for 20 years after ‘incident’ on pitch
- Matthew Nean grazed referee James Brown – was sent off the field
- Was in a local grand final in 2016: Nean wants the ban removed or reduced
- NSWRL has rejected multiple appeals, remains adamant conduct was willful
- Nean, 31, can’t play again until 2036; he was also forbidden to take care of his three children.
A soccer player suspended for 20 years after making ‘contact’ with a referee is prepared to take the matter to the New South Wales Supreme Court as he fights to clear his name.
Matthew Nean, 31, was controversially sent off in the 2016 rugby league grand final when representing his beloved West Tamworth Lions in north-eastern New South Wales against bitter rivals North Tamworth.
Despite only brushing referee James Brown’s shoulder as he passed, which Nean insists was an accident, the talented fifth-eighth was given his marching orders and later charged with misconduct.
With an anticipated guilty plea, the father of three was offered an 18-week suspension.
Nean felt the ban was too harsh and opted to fight the charge at a hearing.
Soccer player Matthew Nean was banned from playing for 20 years after making ‘contact’ with a referee during a 2016 grand final in Tamworth (pictured)
Referee James Brown sent off Nean and the fifth eighth was later charged with contrary conduct.
Long-term partner Teegan Hewson fears for her man’s mental health as football is ‘his oxygen’
Incredibly, he was found guilty and suspended for 20 years.
“At first I thought it was a joke,” Nean said. “I couldn’t believe what had happened, I was just trying to figure it out.”
Nean’s partner, Teegan Hewson, fears for her man’s mental health.
“We can’t even go to watch a football game (because of the ban)… and I can’t sleep at night, I worry about him,” she told the outlet. Sydney Morning Herald.
“It’s like taking away his oxygen… he was breathing football.”
Nean is also struggling with the fact that he is prohibited from training or even watching his children, Kobhan (13), Nixhan (8) and Ainslee (6), play on Saturday mornings during the season.
Nean was offered an 18-week suspension, but opted to fight the charge at a hearing.
Incredibly, the father of three was found guilty and banned from playing or watching local football until 2036 in Tamworth.
The heartbroken father would love to coach his sons’ soccer teams, but is prohibited from doing so due to his long suspension.
Every time he arrives at a suburban football field, a tap on the shoulder follows and the proud dad has to go.
Since 2016, Nean has made several attempts to appeal his long-standing ban with the NSWRL.
All have fallen on deaf ears, and now Nean’s legal team, Sports Lawyer, are said to be considering an extension of the statute of limitations to pursue actions in the NSW Supreme Court.
When Nean was initially given the full ban, the late Country Rugby League boss Terry Quinn branded the playmaker a ‘repeat offender’ when it came to his clashes with officials.
He added that Nean’s conduct in the 2016 decider was “indefensible” and deserved the “harshest of punishments.”