Controversial Referee Incident Goes Viral During Traverse City Game

There is a video that is going viral of a boys' soccer game in Traverse City between Traverse City Saint Francis and Gaylord High School.

The video seems to show a ref colliding with a player and then assaulting him directly after the minor collision.

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A video of the incident was posted by 9&10 News.

A video from a boys' soccer playoff game in Traverse City appears to show a referee pushing a player to the ground. Michigan State Police are now investigating the incident that happened during a match between Gaylord High School and Traverse City St. Francis. Updates will be provided as more information becomes available.

One person who has some experience playing this position offered their insight in the comment section about why the altercation:

As a line ref, what I see is someone standing in the refs pathway, which we run and use without looking. Can see the ref runs into them (they turn), then goes back to confront. Cannot tell if pushed or person tripped or ?? Refs CONSTANTLY have to tell people to back up, for our own safety. Maybe this person was told multiple times? Never a reason for physical contact, but I'm assuming that's why the interaction.

The video of itself is from hundreds of feet away, but another video in the comment section shows comes from right over the altercation, and shows what appears to be the student completely unaware that the ref was heading towards him, making the assault completely unfounded.

Still, even if the child did appear to purposely try and trip the referee, that’s no excuse for assaulting a child, and the ref should’ve issued a red card and disqualified the team, not grab him and push them over the benches.