NAIROBI, June 16 (Xinhua) -- A leading Kenyan coach and a player in the domestic league were on Friday handed lengthy bans for assaulting match referees in an attempt to clamp down on abuse of officials.
Kenya Commercial Bank (KCB) Rugby Football Club title-winning Head Coach, Curtis Olago was slapped with a heavy seven and a-half-month ban for assault.
Second-division Resolution Kisii RFC forward Abel Mong' eni handed a nine-month suspension backdated to April 18.
Olago, who led the Lions to the Kenya Cup and Enterprise Cup domestic double last season, was found guilty of attacking a referee- Karimi Mwangi- at the domestic sevens series event of Dala 7s in Kisumu last October.
The Kenya Rugby Union (KRU) Judicial Panel led by Willy Ombisi unanimously concurred Olago who is a respected figure in the game was to blame for the incident.
"In pursuant to R20.10.1(c), the Person is suspended from all Rugby activity for a period of 30 weeks, effective from the date of this decision (6 June, 2017)," the judgement read in part.
The panel noted Olago and Mwangi, who is also the Kenya Rugby Referee Society Chairman started their hostilities at a Kenya Cup (domestic top flight) fixture last year.
"I will take my punishment but that doesn' t mean I will not raise my voice whenever such vices are repeated. Biased officiating is not good for the game," the defiant Olago told local media on Friday.
Mong' eni was found guilty of attacking another refereee David Ng' etich during their second tier KRU Championship 6-3 semi-final win over USIU on April 8.
