A player has been cited for allegedly threatening a referee in a recent fixture.
THE Port Macquarie Sharks Rugby League Club is on the edge of a crisis, with one of its players facing a possible 20-year ban from the game.
A player has been cited for allegedly threatening a referee in a recent fixture.
Group 2 chief administration officer Jim Anderson was unable to go into details about the incident because the accused player still had not been before the judiciary.
"We organised a meeting last week, but he didn't turn up," Mr Anderson said.
"The referees made a complaint that the player threatened to stab and kill him."
Mr Anderson stressed that at this stage the complaints were only allegations but until the player faces the board he is banned from all forms of rugby league in Australia.
He said, if found guilty and charged with the incident, the player could be handed a 20-year suspension.
A life suspension for assaulting a referee is the only possible worse penalty that a rugby league player could face. Mr Anderson said he and many others were shocked by the incident.
"I can't remember ever coming across an incident like this," he said.
Mr Anderson said the player was sent from the field at some stage of the game but was unable to give an insight into the chronological events of the incident in relation to the send off.
Sharks president Steve Manton said he was unable to comment, as he was due to give evidence at a forthcoming meeting.
The Sharks will play another home game in Port Macquarie this weekend against the Woolgoolga Seahorses.