‘No one will stop me from refereeing’: Linesman has jaw broken by spectator at suburban soccer game

A referee of 24 years whose jaw was broken in three places when he was thrown to the ground and punched in the face by a suspended player after a suburban soccer match insists “no one will stop me from refereeing, ever” but wants better support from ground officials.

Khodr Yaghi was acting as a linesman when the Greenacre Eagles lost to the Padstow Hornets 5-1 in a Bankstown district Premier League match in south-west Sydney on Friday night when a spectator, who he said was a suspended Greenacre player, began “abusing us [referees] badly”.

“I asked about a ground official to calm him down,” Yaghi texted from hospital on Sunday, as his injury prevented him from talking, “but this guy carried on … and he jumped over the fence and ran straight towards us.

“[He] was swearing and abusing us badly for no reason. As he’s approaching us, he put his hands up to start [a] fight … I tried to push him away with my [45cm] linesman’s stick. But this guy starts running around and tries to get behind me, as he [knows] he can’t get me face to face.

“As I was having arguments with another player, this guy came from behind me and attacked me. Straight on my face. With his hands and legs all on my head and face.”

The incident was captured on video. It shows an argument among a group of people and shouts of “hey ref, get out of there,” before one man, who had been walking away, turned around and began repeatedly punching Yaghi as members of the Eagles tried to pull him away.

Khodr Yaghi has been refereeing soccer for 24 years and will continue to do so despite having his jaw broken in three places.

“This is a ref, mate, and he’s a good one,” one person protesting against the violence can be heard saying on the video. The attacker then circled back before he was restrained.

The video then shows Yaghi – who officiates games in the NSW state soccer league as well as in district competitions – bleeding from the mouth. He said that his jaw was broken in three places and he had lost three teeth.

Greenacre condemned the violence and withdrew the team from the competition. “This serves as a reminder to all that violence will not be tolerated at our club,” it said in a statement.

Yaghi had witnessed many incidents during his 24 years as a referee, “but this was the worst”, he said. The fields were public “so [there are] always suspended players around,” Yaghi said, but “I think we should have more active ground officials”.

The linesman’s jaw was broken after an alleged punch to the face.

Yaghi said teams were supposed to supply a minimum of three officials each but at this match, each supplied only one. Representatives for Greenacre, Padstow, and Bankstown district were contacted for comment.

Nick Kambounias, the chairman of neighbouring Football Canterbury, said the clubs could suspend players but could not prevent their attendance as spectators. He said violent incidents involving suspended players were rare.

“We do rope off fields – some are enclosed with perimeter fencing, so [spectators are] not permitted to enter – but there’s nothing we can do as an association about preventing them from turning up at a public park,” he said.

Referees can only penalise players and officials, rather than spectators. However, if spectators are acting outside the spirit of the game, the referee can stop the match. The Padstow incident happened after the final whistle was blown.

In a statement, Football NSW said it was aware of the incident in the Bankstown District Amateur Football Association and had “zero tolerance for any antisocial behaviour from any of its participants at any time,” and would help Bankstown deal with the matter.

BDAFA said it was co-operating with police and that both teams had come to the assistance of the referee. “Bankstown Football adopts a zero tolerance policy to any form of violence at sanctioned events.”

The incident is the latest to cast a shadow over the sport. Last August, the riot squad was called in to break up a brawl in Sydney’s inner west in which spectators shouted and threw flares and road signs at each other outside Leichhardt Oval after a match between Sydney FC and the Central Coast Mariners.

Last December, Melbourne Victory fans ran onto the field and assaulted player Tom Glover and referee Alex King during an A-League derby on December 17 against Melbourne City at AAMI Park.

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