WESTERN BUREAU:
YESTERDAY'S WESTERN derby between Reno and Seba United at the Frome Sports Ground in Westmoreland, was called off after 45 minutes when referee Orville Sancroft decided it was unsafe to continue the game without the presence of adequate security.
In a brief interview with The Gleaner after his decision, referee Sancroft said that prior to the start of the game, members of the Reno management had assured him the policemen, who were down to provide security, were on their way to the venue. He said he started the game on condition that the situation would have been sorted out before half time.
"They got the entire first half to sort of the security situation and they didn't and as you saw, a Reno player was red-carded and some of the fans were getting quite abusive," said Sancroft. "Under the circumstances, it would have been unwise to continue the game without security."
The game, which was pro-ceeding smoothly, became somewhat contentious in the 44th minute when Reno's defender Omar Johnson was red-carded after allegedly using an expletive in the presence of one of the assistant referees.
The teams were locked at 0-0 when the game was called off.
