The President of Samoa Tag Incorporated Faaofonuu Junior Leota refuted claims that he allegedly assaulted a player after training last week at Leififi College.

A player is alleged to have been punched by Faaofonuu before driving off. The alleged assault was witnessed by players and supporters present at the training.

A player told the newspaper that Faaofonu was allegedly upset with something that transpired in a training match and confronted the player as he was driving off after training had finished.

Faaofonuu told Samoa Observer that no punches were thrown and it was all just a misunderstanding which has been resolved.

"No punch. Misunderstanding between myself and player regarding game time but no punches at all," he said in his response. 

The national tag teams were training for a tournament in New Zealand. Players and other coaches have opted to remain silent on the issue due to fear of being dropped before they departed Samoa. The teams flew out over the weekend on different flights and will play in the tournament this weekend.

The Samoa Association of Sports and National Olympics Committee (SASNOC), Chief Executive Officer, Tuala Mathew Vaea confirmed that violence is not tolerated in sports. 

"Every sport whether it's boxing, swimming, archery, tag and every other sport they have constitutions, rules and regulations. So if an issue like that occurs, they deal with it on their own. For the 28 sports registered in Samoa, they all have executive committees or boards to deal with any issues or incidents," he said.

Seven teams from Samoa Tag Incorporated are currently in New Zealand to participate for the Pacific Tag Federation Incorporated's 2025 Pacific Tag Cup at Seaside Park, Otahuhu, in Auckland. They have an Open Men's, Open Women's, Under-21 Men, Under-21 Mixed, Open Mixed, Senior Men, and Under-18 Men's team competing for the tournament.