Woman punched in Ikeys mob brawl

A young lady named Irini Agathagelou has posted a message to Carte Blanche on Facebook, telling of an alleged attack carried out by a UCT 1st XV player, after their historic comeback win against NWU Pukke

A young lady named Irini Agathagelou has posted a message to Carte Blanche on Facebook, telling of an alleged attack carried out by a UCT 1st XV player, after their historic comeback win against NWU Pukke

Published Apr 11, 2014

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Cape Town - A mass brawl after UCT’s Varsity Cup rugby triumph has left an Ikeys player facing a charge of assault for allegedly hitting a female student.

Ikeys beat Pukke 39-33 in the final in Potchefstroom on Monday night, but Irini Agathagelou, a student at the North West University, has since reported that she was a victim of violence later that night.

The drama began at a Wimpy outlet next to a popular nightclub and deteriorated into a mass brawl lasting 10 to 15 minutes inside and outside the restaurant, according to one source.

The incident was captured on CCTV and made its way on to YouTube.

The footage shows a group of young people punch each other, while others try to separate them.

Police arrived at the scene and peppersprayed the brawling group.

Agathagelou wrote to the TV show Carte Blanche: “I’m a female student (age 21) on the puk (NWU) that suffered from woman abuse from the winning team of the varsity cup, they wear pink pants and play with the pink ball to fight against woman abuse!

“The night they won and his friends assaulted a puk player in the local wimpy, I tried to stop the fight and (the player) threatened to hit me, I continued to help my fellow puk member and then (the player) gave me a right hook to the face, he tried to hit me again but someone stopped him, we have video proof and witnesses, the video clearly shows his attack on me and on UNW player Edmar Marais!

“I suffered from a concussion and got five stitches in my face as well as back and neck injuries! Please contact me on Facebook to get my information! Thank you.”

Sources canvassed by the Cape Argus said the player in question had since explained he was being pummelled from all sides and had been hitting out in defence to protect himself when he hit Agathagelou.

To make matters worse, he was possibly already suffering from impaired eyesight due to police having used either teargas or pepper spray to attempt to break up the brawl.

Agathagelou later laid a complaint at the local police station, but no arrests were made.

A source said police were at the scene “in full force” as late-night brawls were not unusual in the area.

In response, UCT’s Gerda Kruger said: “The Ikeys Rugby Club are aware of an allegation of assault made on social media against one of our players.

“The University of Cape Town has been alerted to an alleged incident between a UCT Ikeys rugby player and a young female on the evening of April 7, 2014, in Potchefstroom.

“The female was injured during what seems to have been a fight involving a group of young people.

“UCT takes this matter extremely seriously and the vice-chancellor of UCT, Dr Max Price, has ordered an immediate investigation.

“We will ensure that the entire incident is thoroughly investigated and we will not hesitate to act if any of our students have made themselves guilty of inappropriate or criminal behaviour.

“We have already had discussions with the vice-chancellor of North West University about the incident, and we assured him that we are investigating the matter and view the allegations in the most serious light.

“UCT asks anyone with information about the incident to please contact Mr Steven Ganger from UCT’s Campus Protection Services on 021 650 2226.

“UCT condemns any act of violence by a UCT student in the strongest terms,” Kruger said.

The Cape Argus has not named the rugby player as formal charges had not yet been put to him in court at the time of going to press on Thursday night.

Cape Argus

* The video has now been removed from YouTube.

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