ANZ Premiership investigation outcome released

No further action will be taken against Northern Stars mid-courter Fa’amu Ioane following an investigation to her sending off during an ANZ Premiership match.

Ioane was sent from the court during the Round 2 match against the SKYCITY Mystics prompting ANZ Premiership Commissioner Kate Agnew to launch an official review into the incident.

The investigation, headed by former ANZ Championship general manager Mark Bailey, found that Ioane’s penalty in the game was sufficient and did not require further action.

But Bailey, who was supported by former international umpire Bronwyn Meek, has made a recommendation that the process leading into the suspension and ordering off of Ioane warranted further investigation.

ANZ Premiership Commissioner Kate Agnew said the League would now conduct a judicial hearing, which will review the process followed by the umpires who were involved in the May 13 match.

“The ordering off of players is a rare occurrence in Netball and it is important from a League perspective that we conduct a sound judicial review around this,” she said.

It is intended that the next stage of the judicial process occurs as soon as possible, within the next week.

The investigation also looked into potential Misconduct offence by Northern Stars captain Grace Kara and coach Kiri Wills for comments made after the match.

While no further action will be taken against the Stars’ leaders there will be communication from the League to all Teams and officials in the ANZ Premiership reminding them of their responsibilities under the Premiership Code of Conduct.

The Stars next game is against the Silvermoon Tactix at Horncastle Arena in Christchurch on 23 May.