A man has been charged after a New South Wales football referee was repeatedly punched and kicked in a post-match attack that sparked widespread condemnation and a police investigation.
Footage of the incident at the end of an amateur soccer match in Sydney on Friday night showed a sideline argument and a spectator shouting “hey ref, get out of there” before the experienced 45-year-old official was knocked to the ground.
His attacker punched Khodr Yaghi in the face at least three times and appeared to kick him, before a dozen people rushed in to separate the pair.
After being moved away, the younger man made a second run at the injured referee, arming himself with a plastic chair, but was intercepted by players and others on the sideline.
“He broke my jaw. He broke my jaw,” the bloodied Mr Yaghi said as other players assisted him.
Mr Yaghi was later taken to hospital while his attacker, allegedly a suspended player, left the area.
After footage of the attack went viral, a 25-year-old man presented himself to Bankstown police on Sunday afternoon and was arrested.
Police late on Sunday night charged the man with wound person with intent to cause grievous bodily harm, and affray.
The incident, at the end of a men’s match between Greenacre Eagles and Padstow Hornets, led the Eagles to withdraw from all remaining men’s premier league matches in the 2023 season.
Its club committee pledged on Sunday to assist police and work with the association to impose appropriate sanctions.
“(We) reaffirm our position that all forms of violence have no place in our game and will continue to deal with such instances with the utmost seriousness,” the committee said.
NSW Sports Minister Steve Kamper, a former president of Sydney Olympic Football Club, said the attack was “absolutely unacceptable”.
“All referees and all players should feel safe wherever they’re participating in local sport,” he told reporters.
Premier Chris Minns noted the critical role that officials, often young, have in the success of amateur sporting organisations.
“It’s appalling to hear,” he told reporters.
“You cannot run these leagues that entertain, give our kids an opportunity to play as part of a team, get out of the house and play a team sport, unless people – often young people – agree to be referees in those games,” he said.
Bankstown District Amateur Football Association said it would follow its judiciary regulations and processes, and reiterated its zero-tolerance policy to any form of violence at sanctioned events.
It was being supported by governing body Football NSW.
“Football NSW has zero tolerance for any antisocial behaviour from any of its participants at any time,” Football NSW said.
Abuse has been cited as a core reason several football codes have difficulty in recruiting and retaining officials.
In a 2022 awareness campaign by Western Australia’s governing body for AFL, a young female umpire detailed threats she’d received including “meet me at the bike racks after the game”.
At the same time, Rugby Victoria launched its own anti-abuse campaign after referee numbers fell to a record low.
-AAP
