Red card row: Moment referee is chased off the pitch by an irate parent who ‘lost the plot’ because he booked a potty-mouthed player
- Did YOU witness the row? Contact [email protected]
This is the moment a referee is chased off the pitched by an irate parent who ‘lost the plot’ when a potty-mouthed player was handed a red card during an under-18s football match.
Referee Roger Hughes had just blown the full-time whistle in the game between Portland United and Merley Cobham Sports, in Dorset, when he was filmed being chased.
The video shows an angry father, who had been acting as a linesman, running after Mr Hughes, before being dragged away from him by another parent.
Home team Portland won the Dorset Youth match, which took place at Camp and Satherley Stadium, on the island of Portland, on Sunday, by two goals to one. But the father, who was with the away side, was said to have confronted Mr Hughes over decisions made in the match.
Mr Hughes was then allegedly called a ‘fat c**t’ by one of the players, who was shown a red card by the referee – at which point the father allegedly ‘lost the plot’ and chased him off the pitch.
Did YOU witness the row? Contact [email protected]
This is the moment a referee is chased off the pitched by an irate parent during an under-18s football match in Dorset
The video shows an angry father, who had been acting as a linesman, running after Mr Hughes, before being dragged away from him by another parent (pictured)
The video shows the burly man dressed in jeans and a blue top sprinting across the pitch while Mr Hughes runs away.
Another man is then seen to drag the parent away before he could reach Mr Hughes.
During the shocking incident, shouts and laughing can be heard from some of the players and parents off camera.
Mr Hughes, who is an official referee registered with the Dorset FA, claims he has reported the matter to Dorset Police but the force told MailOnline it had no record of a report relating to the incident.
He said: ‘The assistant (referee) who is a parent refused to give me my flag back and he then started walking towards me. I was walking back and then he started chasing me down the pitch.’
READ MORE: Jermaine Jenas admits he ‘got it wrong’ for hitting out at ‘sh**house’ referee during north London Derby as BBC pundit says that he ‘should know the impact words can have’… after calling for ‘no more abuse’ against officials in July
The incident, which happened at Portland Utd’s ground, has been condemned by Portland Utd, the Dorset FA and the charity Ref Support UK.
The level of abuse and physical attacks dished out to youth football referees has risen, with officials fearing one being killed is ‘around the corner’.
Of the risk, Mr Hughes said: ‘I just really hope we can stamp this out and stop this happening because soon a referee might get killed. I hope people realise we are human and if we make a mistake then so what.’
A statement from Portland United said: ‘Portland United FC is aware of an incident that took place at the Camp and Satherley Stadium on Sunday 24th September and is currently investigating within the club and with the local Dorset FA.
‘At the conclusion of the football game a uniformed football official and a non-uniformed official allegedly had an altercation on the pitch.
‘Portland United will not tolerate this action and has forwarded evidence collected at the game to the relevant governing body. ‘
Martin Cassidy, the chief executive of Ref Support UK, said: ‘I have spoken to the referee involved in the Portland game and he is very anxious about what happened. He has reported the matter to the police.
‘The referee finished the game and went to get his flag back from one of the linesmen who wouldn’t give it back and complained about some of the decisions he had made.
‘A player then called the referee a fat c**t so he gave him a red card. The parent of that child, who was the linesman, lost the plot and chased after the referee. There was another guy who dragged the person away. If he had not done that then who knows what would have happened.’
The video shows the burly man dressed in jeans and a blue top sprinting across the pitch while Mr Hughes runs away
The father, who was with the away side, was said to have confronted Mr Hughes over decisions made in the match
Speaking on the risk posed to referees, Mr Cassidy added: ‘People think that referees are fair game and can be abused. It is totally unacceptable and has got to stop.
‘We believe that someone being killed on the pitch is only around the corner.’
Roger Vaughan, the chief executive of Dorset FA, said it is a terrible image for grassroots football.
He said: ‘As a referee you don’t go out and referee to be chased around a field.’
Over the years the FA has launched numerous ‘respect’ initiatives targeting grassroots football which is aimed at reducing tensions between parents on the side-lines.
Merley Cobham Sports and Dorset Police have been approached for comment.
Source: Read Full Article