Daily BrewMulticultural soccer game ends after referee is knocked unconscious
A multicultural soccer tournament held in Regina this week was a perfect example of cultures coming together in a respectful and peaceful way. Except for that huge brawl.
And the referee who got punched in the face.
Regina Police are on the hunt for a 26-year-old man who allegedly knocked a 45-year-old referee unconscious during an indoor soccer match, Wednesday night.
The match was part of the annual World Class Players Cup Tournament, which pits local players of various backgrounds against one another. The focus is on providing competitive soccer and highlighting cultural communities.
The incident happened during a game between Team Poland and Team Sudan, following a brawl that "went beyond the normal scuffles that happen in all levels of competitive sporting events."
The WCP Cup Organizing Committee broke the series of events down in a blog posted to their website. It said that about 15 minutes after that scuffle, which resulted in four players being ejected, another Team Sudan player committed a "hard tackle" and was thrown out of the game.
[ Related: Regina police seek soccer player after ref punched ]
Here is how the incident is explained:
As a result of the tackle, the referee game the Team Sudan player a red card and ejected him from the game. As a result of the ejection, the Team Sudan player struck the referee.
At the time the referee was struck, there was only a short amount of time left in the game and as a result, a decision by the officiating crew was made to end the game.
...
The WCP Cup Organizing Committee takes the position that the striking by a player of an official is outside of the scope of the game and as such, the local authorities were contacted by the WCP Cup Organizing Committee.
Organizers stressed that the attack on the referee was not connected to the earlier brawl, and say it is the first incident of its kind in the history of the tournament.
In perhaps a valiant attempt to grasp some nobility from the situation, tournament organizers commended the remaining players for "stay(ing) true to the WCP Cup vision that all cultural groups can come together in a respectful and peaceful way."
Yes, kudos to all the players that didn't punch a referee in the face. But it is hard to make any claim to respect and peace through this incident.
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One witness/spectator told CBC News that emotions were running high throughout the game and that "things got out of hand, people started fouling and tackling each other."
Hussam Ibrahim, of Sudan, told the network that he saw the player "touch" the ref's face, but believes the ref overreacted to the contact.
Regina Police, however, allege the referee was punched in the jaw and knocked unconscious. The suspect had left the arena by the time officers arrived, and is the focus of an assault investigation. Regina police say he is believed to be from Alberta.
All those players from all those cultural backgrounds, and the result: Five red cards, one unconscious referee and an assault investigation.
There is a saying that one bad apple spoils the bunch. Apparently, that applies to soccer as well.
