The tie between two sides in the York Football League was called off at half time after the “disgusting act” which left the referee fuming and shocked social media
A grassroots football match was abandoned after a player defecated in one of the referee’s shoes.
Social media users were appalled when the abandonement in the York Football League was confirmed on social media on the weekend. The referee had reportedly said someone had been in his changing room at half time and left the faeces in his shoe.
The violation comes amid a Mirror campaign highlighting the shocking abuse referees face by both players and spectators at grassroots level and above across the country. In this case on the weekend, it is understood a culprit was not identified but the match was brought to a half anyway. It will no be replayed at a later date, it is believed.
It is not clear what led to the incident but a short video shared on social media – purporting to capture the highlights of the first half – show contested refereeing decisions, including the award of a penalty.
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A source, believed to be close to the tie and the league, posted on Facebook: “The referee decided to abandon the game due to someone going into his changing room and rubbing (a poo emoji) into the referees shirt/shoes. Due to fears for his own safety, the match did not continue.”
Our investigation has found that nearly two thirds of the most serious cases of crowd trouble investigated by the Football Association this season is taking place at under 18s matches. However, this behaviour happened at an adults’ game in North Yorkshire.
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It has been condemned across social media across the weekend. One Facebook user wrote: “Disgusting act individuals should be banned for a long time.” Another posted: “Referee rightly so abandoned game. Defies belief the mentality of individuals who did it. A shame as ruined it for all concerned. Never known anything like it.” A further user shared: “I’m glad the referee abandoned the game. Rightly so.”
One man, who claims to know the young referee in question, wrote on social media to confirm North Riding Football Association is investigating the incident. Teams can be fined and/or have points deductions if they or their players are found guilty of misconducts like this. The Mirror has contacted North Riding Football Association for comment.
The wider FA had told us it had introduced a raft of new measures under a four-year plan to ”free” the game of discrimination. Yet, our investigation showed there were 276 serious cases of crowd disorder last season, up 28% in a year. So far this season, there have already been 177 upheld.
