A Sunday league football match in Staffordshire was abandoned after the referee was allegedly assaulted by a linesman, with the home club condemning the attack as 'sickening'.
The Chase FC were playing Holmcroft FC in the Stafford & District Sunday Football League at The Hart School in Rugeley on Sunday (August 23). The match was stopped at half-time after the incident, which police are now investigating.
Alleged assault at half-time
According to The Chase FC, the trouble began after they equalised to make the score 1-1. The Holmcroft linesman raised his flag, but referee Simon King waved it away, allowing the goal to stand.
As the players headed for the break, The Chase FC said the referee was then 'assaulted' by the linesman. The club described the linesman as a 'thug' and said the attack 'has no place in football'.
Club statement condemns attack
In a statement posted on social media, The Chase FC said: "Today (August 23), we welcomed Holmcroft to The Hart School, where the Chase lads were looking to bounce back from last week’s opening-day defeat."
The club continued: "The Holmcroft linesman raised his flag, which was waved away by the referee who had clear view, the goal stood. 1-1 at Halftime. What came next was something we as a club don’t condone in any way, shape, or form. Sadly, the referee was assaulted by the Holmcroft linesman in what can only be described as sickening, and it has no place in football. Rightly so, the game was abandoned because of one mindless thug."
The club added: "A shame, really, as the game was shaping up to be a decent one going into the second half. Our thoughts are with the ref. We hope this doesn’t happen again, because without refs, Sunday morning football doesn’t happen."
Police investigate incident
Staffordshire Police confirmed they were called at 11.20am on Sunday (August 23) to Burnthill Lane in Rugeley following reports of violence. A spokesperson said: "A referee had reportedly been assaulted on playing fields at a scheduled Sunday league football match. The victim, a man, was punched in the face by another man, who left the scene a short time later."
The police are continuing their inquiries and have appealed for anyone with information or footage to contact them on 101 or via Live Chat on their website, quoting incident number 289 of 23 August. Anonymous reports can be made to Crimestoppers on 0800 555 111.
Holmcroft FC was approached for comment but had not responded at the time of publication.
