A referee faced a harrowing encounter when an irate father of an under-15s player he had sent off chased and threatened him in his car. The official, left shaken by the alarming incident, reported that the man overtook and cornered him and unleashed a tirade of abusive language.
The alarming incident occurred after a match in Somerset last January. The referee reported to the FA that he was accosted by a parent who “jumped over the respect barrier and blocked my way”.
The furious man unleashed a tirade, shouting, “You fat ct why don’t you fking retire, you d**khead.” After snapping a photo of the aggressor’s car as it departed, the ref found himself chased down the high street by the vehicle “driving fast behind me”.
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When there was a gap in the traffic, the man in pursuit overtook and blocked the ref in, before jumping out of his car and trying to force his way into the ref’s vehicle. The referee managed to escape, but the assailant gave chase once more: “At this point I was very concerned for my safety. [He] was driving very close to the rear of my car and was very intimidating,” reports the Mirror.
This incident highlights the escalating trend of abusive behavior at youth football matches, as indicated by a rise in reported cases of crowd disorder. The FA revealed that there were 276 significant instances of crowd disorder last season, reflecting a 28% increase from the previous year. Moreover, there has been an alarming escalation in incidents at matches involving under-18s, with a 45% rise last year and nearly two-thirds of the most serious cases investigated this year involving children’s matches.
The FA has emphasized the importance of collective responsibility in tackling this unacceptable behavior in grassroots football and has encouraged leagues and clubs to take action to address such incidents.