Credit: Twitter
A referee Khoder Haghi suffered a broken jaw after allegedly being assaulted at a football match in Sydney's southwest. The incident took place during a First Grade match between the Padstow Hornets and the Greenacre Eagles at Padstow Park on Friday night. The referee was left with a bloodied mouth, and it is believed that he suffered a broken jaw and lost some teeth.
A 25-year-old alleged attacker, who was a suspended player and attended the match as a spectator, was arrested by the NSW police for alleged assault. The NSW police said, "A spectator allegedly confronted a referee at the conclusion of a soccer match. It's alleged the man assaulted the referee by punching him multiple times in the face and kicking him to the head." He was denied bail and is set to appear in court.
The incident was caught on camera and the referee is heard saying, "He broke my jaw." He has been identified as a member of the Greenacre team and amateur boxer Adam Abdullah. The footage showed a man pushing the official to the ground and punching and kicking him in the face.
Watch the video here:
"Bankstown Football is fully cooperating with the police on this matter. Bankstown Football has also commenced its own investigation into this matter and will follow its judiciary regulations and processes," it said in a statement. The Green Eagles have withdrawn from the tournament to show that they do not support any kind of violence.
Yaghi himself has spoken about it and said that the accused was abusing him for no reason and when he was arguing with another player he came from behind and attacked him. The referee reportedly suffered a broken jaw and had four teeth knocked out and received treatment after being taken to Liverpool Hospital in southwest Sydney.
Yaghi has insisted that he will continue refereeing in spite of the attack after his recovery. He has officiated in Sydney for decades, including in the NSW Premier League which is Australia’s third tier of football. Physical assault on referees is becoming more and more common these days as in Spain, referee Antonio Pozo was assaulted after an under-19s game between Polillas and Calavera.
