‘Unacceptable risk’: Adam Abdallah refused bail for alleged assault of referee

A Greenacre Eagles soccer player has been kept behind bars after allegedly punching a soccer referee repeatedly at a suburban Sydney competition on Friday night.

Adam Abdallah, 25, appeared before Bankstown Local Court on Monday on charges of wounding referee Khodr Yaghi with intent to cause grievous bodily harm, and affray.

Referee Khodr Yaghi had his jaw broken in Friday night’s incident.

The Villawood man appeared via an audiovisual link, confirming to the magistrate he could hear proceedings but was otherwise quiet as more than a dozen family members attended court supporting him.

The 25-year-old allegedly became abusive to Yaghi, a referee of 24 years, at the end of a match between the Eagles and Padstow Hornets at a Bankstown District Premier League match in south-western Sydney.

Yaghi told the Herald on Sunday that Abdallah was a spectator for the match after being suspended as a player for an unrelated matter and allegedly became verbally abusive and raised his fists.

A video shows Abdallah walking away before turning around and appearing to punch Yaghi repeatedly as other members of the Eagles tried to pull him off.

The video then shows Yaghi bleeding from the mouth, which he said was broken in three areas and had lost three teeth.

Police prosecutors argued Abdallah should be denied bail as he risked failing to comply with bail conditions and posing a threat to the alleged victim and the community more broadly.

“[The soccer match] was meant to bring together a community. It’s a family-friendly environment … the level of what’s at display puts the community at risk,” the prosecutor said after playing a snippet of footage of what appeared to be Abdallah repeatedly punching Yaghi.

Abdallah’s barrister Talal Krayem told magistrate Glenn Walsh his client’s family would put $25,000 surety and make sure the 25-year-old complied with strict proposed bail conditions including visiting police every day with his wife, abiding by curfews and not attending any sport matches.

“This is something that’s very much out of character for him,” Krayem said, also submitting an affidavit from Abdallah’s wife confirming her husband worked full time, suffered from ADHD and she was pregnant with their child.

Krayem also argued Abdallah had been struck on the head by Yaghi’s linesman stick with “enough force for him to fall to the ground”, meaning there was a case of self-defence.

Walsh disagreed, finding the long period of time between Abdallah falling to the ground and then allegedly coming back to “beat [Yaghi] savagely” made it a weak argument for self-defence.

“I find there is an unacceptable risk,” Walsh said, denying Abdallah’s bail and setting the next court hearing for June 28.

Earlier on Monday, Yaghi’s wife, Fay Yaghi, spoke to Ben Fordham on 2GB, saying she never thought something so vicious could happen at a community game.

“I get a phone call in the middle of the night that my husband’s been brutally bashed and he’s taken to Liverpool Hospital,” she said.

“My husband adores soccer, he’s so passionate about soccer, he loves soccer ... he’s all bruised up, swelling, hooked up to all these machines, he’s bleeding non-stop.”

She said her husband was familiar with intimidation and bullying on the field, but this level of violence was far from normal.

“This time it’s just out of control for no reason, no legitimate reason … why should anyone be attacked in that vicious way for something so innocent. He didn’t do anything wrong, not him or the other referees,” she said.

Yaghi is scheduled to have his jaw reconstructed today and will later go back to get his teeth repaired, earlier saying he would return to refereeing.

“Nothing can stop him. You don’t understand, soccer is in his blood, it’s like a passion forever,” his wife said.

The Morning Edition newsletter is our guide to the day’s most important and interesting stories, analysis and insights. Sign up here.