EDFL: Bassman Abdul-Wahed facing deregistration over umpire threat

A local footballer from Melbourne’s north is set to be deregistered after threatening an umpire during a game last weekend.

A local footballer has been banned for threatening an umpire.

A local footballer from Melbourne’s north is facing a life ban after telling an umpire “I’ll see you after the game” last week.

Northern Saints Bassman Abdul-Wahed received a six-week ban for the incident during an Essendon District Football League Thirds Division 2 game against Pascoe Vale on Friday night.

Abdul-Wahed was charged with “behaving in an abusive, insulting, threatening or obscene manner towards or in relation to an umpire” with the incident taking him over the 16-week threshold.

A league email sent to Northern Saints, seen by this masthead, said Abdul-Wahed disputed an umpire’s decision and “ran towards the umpire full steam” before one of his teammates stopped him.

Another field umpire blue carded Abdul-Wahed who then said “I’ll see you after the game” in a threatening manner according to the email.

This resulted in a red card with the player accepting the set penalty offered by the EDFL.

In reviewing the incident, it was found Abdul-Wahed had two profiles on PlayHQ, which is used by leagues across Australia to manage player profiles and stats, with the AFL now merging those profiles.

“Once fixed, we will go through the deregistration process as he has now exceeded 16 matches,” the league email said.

Under the AFL’s “national player and official deregistration policy’’, players have their registration withdrawn when they hit 16 weeks.

Players can appeal the deregistration 12 months after the conclusion of their suspensions.

Northern Saints made headlines earlier this year after footage emerged of a player from the club striking another person from a rival team in an ugly off-field incident. Punishments handed down to the club for that incident included the need to install security cameras.

Abdul-Wahed is the second player to be deregistered this season after Dingley’s Jake Mullen unsuccessfully appealed his ban earlier this year. Mullen, who was playing for the Southern league club, was handed a five-week ban after he slapped a spectator.

Northern Saints have been contacted for comment.