I only punched him says Buckman

HAMISH BIDWELL
Body1: Havelock North Wanderers will appeal the eight-week suspension handed down to Dean Buckman in the aftermath of the "Battle of Guthrie Park".
The June 9 Homeworx Pacific Premiership match between Havelock and Gisborne Thistle was abandoned three minutes early, after degenerating into an all-in brawl.
Buckman was said to be at the heart of that, throwing the punch that floored Thistle's Stefan Rush and caused a melee.
A judicial hearing convened by Central Soccer, produced the following findings yesterday.
It is their belief that Rush was not only punched but also "stomped on" by one or more Havelock North players.
Following an investigation a Havelock North player (Buckman), who admitted punching the Gisborne player, has been fined and suspended from playing, coaching and managing any team for the rest of the season.
"As a result of the incident, both clubs have been put on a good behaviour bond of $1000 to the end of 2008. The judicial committee, though, convinced that the stomping did occur, feel the offender was not sufficiently identified for Central Soccer to take any action and we would appreciate any assistance from spectators at the game to identify him."
All of which has crushed Buckman (pictured right) and his club, who believe the punishment does not fit the crime.
Because of the good behaviour bond, no-one from Havelock North Wanderers felt comfortable talking to SportToday on the record.
But as the player who has been singled out in this instance, Buckman had no such problem.
"We'll definitely appeal and I can guarantee this won't be the last you'll hear of this," Buckman said last night.
"I did a stupid thing and I've admitted that, but I really can't see how I can get 10 weeks for punching someone on the nose. I only punched him, and there's plenty of witnesses who will back me up on that."
Yet allegations have been made that Buckman also stomped on Rush.
"No. There's no way I would ever do that and there's no way it happened in this case. I couldn't have anyway, because two or three seconds after throwing the punch I was on the ground being pummelled by their players.
"I know I'm a bit of a hot-head and I know I hit the guy and I've apologised for that. But the severity of the suspension has blown me away. I thought I might get two or three week, not this many.
"This suspension doesn't just mean I can't play soccer, but I can't coach it either. Soccer is my life and aside from assisting with the coaching of this team, I help coach our second team and I coach our women's team as well. It just seems so unfair.
"The other thing is that people are going to read about how long I've been suspended and think I'm a real bad apple. I'm not. Yeah, I'm a cheeky little so-and-so sometimes, but I'm not a violent person.
"I'm 39 years old and I just want to play and coach the game I love. Instead I've done something wrong and I'm just going to have to live with that."
The June 9 match was the second time a Thistle game had been abandoned this season, following a string of incidents during their match against Port Hill United on May 5.
Given that Thistle had "form" SportToday understands Havelock is disappointed their opponents appear to have escaped real punishment.
Even more so, given that a prone Buckman is said to have been kicked by several of the Thistle contingent.