A college football referee was physically assaulted by a disgruntled parent on Saturday night during a game in Saint-Hyacinthe, forcing the game to be canceled at halftime.
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The incident occurred during the final game of the season, between the Lauréats de Saint-Hyacinthe and the Noir et Or de Valleyfield. A controversial decision by an official who canceled a touchdown at the end of the first half is believed to be the cause of the altercation.
After a heated verbal exchange, the father of a player allegedly struck several blows at the referee in question, who then fell to the ground.
“I saw a crowd around them and people running to tamp down the angry father. It took several people to hold him back. The referee on the ground had difficulty moving, breathing. It was violent”, describes Élodie Aubuchon, who came to see her boyfriend play for the Laureates.
In a video posted on the Web, we can also hear the supporter in question addressing the referee in an accusatory tone, while blows are exchanged.
The student says that from the start of the match, “we felt a certain provocation, an intense energy” between the two teams.
"There were a lot of flags on the games, so fouls, because the referees didn't want the tension to rise," she assumes.
The official would have had a broken tooth, according to our information.
“A physical assault of this magnitude is a first for us since I arrived in office 8 years ago,” laments the CEO of the Quebec Student Sports Network (RSEQ), Gustave Roel.
Arrests
The organization is currently collecting all the necessary information from the coaches of the two clubs and the officials on site to make an informed decision on what to do next.
But, according to several people to whom Le Journal spoke, the parent involved in this case would not be his first escapades of the genre.
“We wholeheartedly wish the referee involved a speedy recovery. Given the shortage of [current] officials, we cannot afford to lose any more,” said Football Quebec general manager Steve Duchesneau.
The RSEQ indicates that, depending on the sport, there has been a decrease of 25% to 40% in numbers this year.
“For us, it is unacceptable for an official to be abused in this way,” said Mr. Roel.
The Sûreté du Québec was even called to go there to intervene and take care of the two belligerents. The two men were arrested, then released a few hours later with conditions to be respected.
“The case will be submitted to the Director of Criminal and Penal Prosecutions. The two individuals also filed a complaint against each other,” said spokeswoman Béatrice Dorsainville.
Game suspended
The game, which was 10-10 at the time of the scuffle, was suspended. The RSEQ must make a decision at the beginning of the week about whether or not to resume it.
Élodie Aubuchon, who was accompanied by two relatives aged 12 and 14, regrets that they witnessed such violence and that the evening was spoiled by a single supporter.
“It was a beautiful evening, there were lots of people in the stands. Some players were playing their last game of the regular season, she explains on the phone. Violence just has no place and is not a way to express yourself. It does not set a good example for young people.
For the moment, the two teams must face each other again next week, for the quarter-finals of division 2. Additional security measures will be deployed, including the presence of police, said the Cégep de Saint-Hyacinthe. in a press release on Sunday.
MAY 7, 2022
A 17-year-old young man who was refereeing a soccer game involving 14-year-old teenagers was punched in the face by a spectator in Dollard-Des Ormeaux.
In a video that was broadcast on the Web, we see the grandfather of a player shouting at the young man as he approached him. It was when the latter pushed him away that the spectator hit him in the face.
A parent ended the altercation by tackling the aggressive individual to the ground.
28 MARS 2022
A house announcer in disagreement with the decision of a referee during a game of a senior hockey league in Gaspésie jumped on the ice to tell him his way of thinking, before coming to blows.
A second official and players had to intervene, before the man left the ice of the J.-Robert Lévesque arena in Sainte-Anne-des-Monts under the cries of the crowd.
He was eventually arrested for assault.
13 MARS 2022
A midget hockey player representing Sherbrooke in a game in Coaticook punched a 15-year-old referee in the face after he was ejected from the game following a skirmish in front of the net.
Footage captured on site shows the official exchanging a few words with the player as he escorts him to the exit. Just before leaving the ice, the latter turned around and chased the teenager to attack him.
Other referees and players from his own team had to intervene.
