Closing arguments in R645k damages suit against former pupil and Bishops Diocesan College

Closing arguments were expected to be heard on Tuesday in a R645,000 civil damages case arising from a water polo fracas between pupils from Bishops Diocesan College and Rondebosch Boys’ High School in Cape Town.

Bishops pupil Bingo Ivanisevic was red-carded during a 2018 water polo match after punching rival player Ross Stone — dislodging his teeth and cracking a bone in his mouth. One of his teeth had to be retrieved from the bottom of the swimming pool.

Stone, who played for Rondebosch at the time, is claiming R645,000 in damages from Bishops and Ivanisevic.  

The court heard Ivanisevic attended a disciplinary hearing for “unsportsmanlike conduct”. The disciplinary committee heard he was remorseful for what he had done while being caught up in the tension of the match.  

The committee also noted Ivanisevic had a history with Rondebosch, which he attended before moving to Bishops, and had been “severely provoked by the victim”.

“My injuries included bruising in the rib area of my chest where Ross had punched me, a cut inside my lip from a punch inflicted on me by Ross, and tenderness in my genitalia which Ross had repeatedly grabbed and squeezed underwater,” Ivanisevic said in court documents.  

The court heard testimony from Bishops' deputy headmaster of discipline and sport Warren Wallace, who attended the game where Stone was punched in the mouth. He explained his role was to calm pupils when tensions ran high.  

In Ivanisevic’s plea, he said Bishops and Rondebosch “failed to take all reasonable steps to bring under control the spectators attending the match, which had descended into a gladiatorial spectacle well before the incident, thereby inciting Stone’s misconduct”.  

Stone received medical treatment costing R45,931 and requires future treatment estimated to add up to about R350,000. He is also suing for R250,000 in general damages for loss of amenities of life, pain, emotional anxiety and shock. 

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