Moment spectator punches referee as under-7s football match descends into chaos
This is the moment an angry spectator punches an amateur referee after a children's football match.
Footage shows Adam Sears aiming several blows at the referee at the match in Merseyside. The game was held on January 7 this year at Lord Derby Pavilion, the home of AFC Knowsley.
The 29-year-old became aggressive after a substitution in the game, a court was told. Sears, of Fazakerley, was found guilty this week of assault by beating of the adult referee and of using threatening, abusive or insulting language or behaviour towards a younger referee.
After a trial at South Sefton Magistrates Court, Sears was sentenced on Tuesday and handed a 12-month community order, ordered to carry out 150 hours of unpaid work and pay hundreds of pounds in compensation and costs. He has also been placed under a restraining order to prevent him from having contact with the victims.
Adam Sears punched the referee after the under-7s match (Liverpool Echo)The adult victim of the assault, who cannot be named for legal reasons, shared footage of the attack and spoke out about the ordeal his family have been through both in terms of the attack and the subsequent months, reports the Liverpool Echo. Sears became angry over a substitution in a match officiated on by a younger referee.
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According to an FA judgement into the case, it was claimed the 29-year-old repeatedly told the young referee he would "drop him" through gritted teeth while clenching his fists. The young referee abandoned the game after this.
The referee said when he questioned the man about this as he was leaving the ground he was attacked. CCTV footage shows Sears getting out of his car before throwing several punches at him. The victim said: "I was most worried that he had threatened (the other referee) because he didn't like some of the decisions he had made in an under 7s match."
He added: "We actually stopped playing in the Merseyside Youth League league for a week after Christmas because of the level of abuse aimed at referees, and then in the first week back I get punched in the face." He said the fact that Sears pleaded not guilty to the charges meant he had the situation "hanging over us for nine months," adding: "This guy has put us through a lot."
Sears was also given a five-year suspension from all football activity. This has originally included a ban from all grounds or venues but this element was lifted on appeal - something the victim of the assault is unhappy about. He added: "This man should be nowhere near a football match. I am concerned that this will happen to someone else who is refereeing a match. People should not be abused just because they are wearing the black uniform."
He said instances of abuse and violence towards referees are increasing and called on the FA to do more to tackle them. He added: "The buck needs to stop with the Football Association, they need to come down much harder on this sort of abuse. They are not doing enough locally or nationally."
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