A supporter of the New Zealand Warriors has been banned from watching his club for life after opting to down a beer out of his shoe at the Mt Smart Stadium.
Calley Gibbons, 31, has been hit with the sanction despite going down a storm with fellow fans after doing the 'shoey' during the team's 42-18 NRL win over the Bulldogs on Friday. The man now dubbed 'Roger Shoey Vasa-Shack' by fellow fans was immediately frog-marched out of the arena and informed he would never be coming back.
However, the Warriors' fanbase clearly aren't in agreement, and have launched a petition to get the harsh ban overturned for the popular bricklayer. Thus far, more than 3,000 signatures have been gathered in support.
And Gibbons himself has also pleaded his case, confirming to the Sydney Morning Herald he hadn't been charged for his actions. He also insisted he had purchased the beer himself from one of the stadium bars.
"I was evicted from the stadium and the security guard escorted me out and told me I had a lifetime ban," Gibbons said. "Your guess is as good as mine as to why I was kicked out. It's just wrong. I told them I had purchased the beer from the venue, I was not intoxicated and it was my choice as to how I consumed the beer.
Gibbons also implied he was unfairly targeted by a staff member, adding: "I'm not sure if one particular security guard had it in for me. He told me, 'You won't be coming back here in this lifetime'."
Gibbons has sat by the coaches' box since 2006 and his father, Ron Gibbons, was a Warriors fanatic. And the Kiwi fan wasn't perturbed about carrying on his night at another venue: "I'd only done the one shoey. At least I got one good shoey in. I went to a bar and did a few shoeys every time the Warriors scored."
Given his team ended up scoring seven tries, that would have represented a decent intake from Gibbons. For their part, the Warriors have claimed they were unaware that Gibbons had been ejected.
The win boosted what has otherwise been an underwhelming season for the Warriors, lifting them to 13th in the table. Under coach Stacey Jones, it was just their sixth win in 21 outings in this campaign.
