VAUXHALL Motors ABC secretary John Smurthwaite has slammed a pedantic German referee who disqualified one of the club's young stars just seconds into a contest.

A 14-strong party from Vauxhall returned from Ellesmere Port's twin town Reutlingen last week after a highly-successful cultural exchange which included eight bouts with their hosts.

But Mason Cartwright's schoolboy contest against BR Scwhenningen's Erkan Bozkaya lasted less than a minute as he was promptly disqualified for wearing a neck chain.

John said: 'He'd hardly started and a 1,000-mile trip was wasted due to an official's lack of common sense. Why the referee couldn't have just asked our corner to remove the chain I don't know?

'The embarrassment was palpable from our German hosts in the crowd. Mason conducted himself with great dignity and was named Best Sportsman of the Evening.'

Vauxhall were also left fuming by the disqualification of Eddie Gallagher for 'hitting with the inside of the glove' as he floored Jorg Bobyr.

John said: 'It was a peach of a left hook, you don't knock someone out with a slap. On the evening, Eddie deserted his usual slick style and took things to his opponent with an aggressive approach, and he's already been warned for 'slapping'.

'We were really upset but you can't let these things get to you. And apart from a couple of bad calls, it was a great trip.'

Also suffering a loss was Sam Crossley, who fell foul of two public warnings for lowering his head against Scwhenningen's Andrej Satkevic.

There were draws for schoolboy prospect Joel Crossley against Scwhenningen's Marcel Orsinger and Alex Foulkes with Kasim Gashi of Dabcshw-GMB.

Vauxhall did have a hat-trick of victories to celebrate as Buster Excell's busy style was too much for RF Leonburg's Halil Sirak.

Martin Jones shocked two-time Wurtenburg Champion and current South Germany title holder Heiko Klein as he inflicted a standing count in the second round before his opponent's corner threw in the towel.

Swift footwork and fast combinations earned Matty Fagan the 'Best Technical Boxer of the Evening' prize as he outclassed Scwhenningen's Ibrahim Ahmad.