After being threatened, spat upon, and racially abused, a referee has decided not to take over Sunday League football matches. He said he had been abandoned by a game, and was then threatened, spat on, and racially abused.
Since 2009, the referee has been in charge of amateur games.
Last Sunday's match was called off after an FC Panda player refused to leave the pitch.
Sky Sports News reported that the official wanted to be known only by his first name, Dwayne. "He took off his shirt and tried to come towards me. His teammates had to restrain him.
Image: The West Riding County Football Association is investigating the incident
"I asked the manager to take me to the changing rooms. I have asked him about 10 times. I was not getting any results so I decided to quit the game.
"So, I blew up for full-time and that's when the situation got worse. I was surrounded by players screaming at me.
"If you weren't there, I think you would have seen a clip of me being punched. It went from zero to 100 in just two minutes. It was insane.
"I was racially abused as I walked back to the changing area. It makes your blood boil. But I felt weak because I had to just walk past it. If I turned around and confronted it, it would have been much worse.
"The thing that bothered me most was when I was changing, I noticed spit marks on my shirt. This really upset me. Is it possible to spit on someone, especially with Covid-19?
The chairman of FC Panda responded to the allegations by saying he was appalled at the allegations and that anyone found guilty would not be allowed to play again for the club.
The statement stated that "I wasn't at the game personally, but I am appalled by these accusations."
"If any of these allegations is proven, individuals will no longer play for our club.
"I am aware that many of our players were disappointed at the abandonment of the game and felt it unfair. We will look into the event as this is the first time I've heard of such allegations from the referee.
Image: The FA states that less than 0.01 percent of grassroots football matches include an assault incident.
"We will support all referees at any time and the difficult job they do every week.
"We are one the most diverse clubs in Halifax with players from South Asian, Afro Caribbean and Black backgrounds.
"If Dwayne feels threatened in a game that we played in, we would love to sit down with him to apologise and move forward together in a positive manner."
The West Riding County Football Association stated that they were aware of the situation and had spoken to the referee immediately after the incident. They said it would be handled "accordingly" but couldn't comment further as their investigation was ongoing.
FA stated that "While only 77 matches in approximately 850,000, or less than 0.1%) include an assault report (2019-20 season)," FA acknowledged that every assault and incident of abuse is unacceptable.
"The FA's Refereeing Department will contact any victim of a physical offense as soon as possible to offer support."
