A man appeared to punch a young assistant referee to the ground during a grassroots football match in Wales over the weekend. Police are investigating the alleged attack, which took place at the ground of Amlwch Town.
Footage on social media appears to show the assistant referee, acting as a linesman, carrying out his duties before he is approached by a man. The man then appears to throw a punch at the assistant referee, knocking him to the ground.
Two people are shown running to the aid of the assistant referee before he climbs to his feet and walks away. Players from both teams are seen making their way over to the touchline before the footage stops.
North Wales Police have confirmed they are investigating the alleged incident, saying: “We can confirm that we are currently investigating an assault which occurred at Amlwch Town FC’s grounds on Saturday, April 27th.
“We can also confirm that we are aware of the footage which is being circulated on social media and ask that people do not share to avoid potentially prejudicing any legal proceedings. Police enquiries continue and we are urging anybody who may have mobile phone footage showing the incident to contact us as soon as possible quoting reference number 24000385680.”
Meanwhile, a spokesperson for the North Wales Coast Football Association said: “The North Wales Coast Football Association (NWCFA) can confirm that we have received a complaint regarding an alleged incident at Amlwch Town FC on Saturday, April 27th.
“The NWCFA take all complaints seriously and will ensure that the relevant body fully investigates the incident. We are also aware of the active North Wales Police investigation. As such, we cannot comment further on an active police matter and will be making no further comment on the matter until it is resolved.”
The Welsh FA have also confirmed they are monitoring the situation, with a spokesperson telling The Telegraph: “The fixture took place in the North Wales Coast West Premier League, which falls under the jurisdiction of the North Wales Coast FA.
“Therefore, disciplinary matters will be dealt with by them in the first instance. As a result, we cannot comment on this matter at this current time as it could come to the FAW on appeal during the disciplinary process and we would not want to prejudice the case.
“The FAW will of course monitor this matter and investigate whether any further involvement is required from the FAW at this current time.”
Noel Mooney, chief executive of the Welsh FA, condemned the alleged attack in a post on X (formerly Twitter). He wrote: “Yes, we are aware of the incident, as are police. There is no room in football for this.”
