An 18-year-old referee was savagely beaten by a parent at the end of the final of a youth football tournament for under-12s.
It happened at the Memorial dedicated to Mirko Poggioni, former manager of the Arezzo youth sector. The episode in the locker room: the match director, from the Aia section of Arezzo, opened the door thinking that they were giving him the rosters at the end of the match, but he found himself in front of the attacker, a 45-year-old resident of Pesaro and originally from Campania, father of a Vis Pesaro footballer. The man allegedly broke into the room, closing the door and then hitting the match director with fists, a chair and even bites, causing him two broken ribs, a trauma to the collarbone, abrasions and hematomas, for a total prognosis of 40 days.
The attack, which was allegedly triggered by a penalty awarded late in the match and contested by the visiting team, was reportedly captured on surveillance cameras.
The person responsible was identified thanks to the intervention of Arezzo's managers and video surveillance images. He was stopped shortly after by the police and will now have to answer for the assault and also for kidnapping. "I am shocked," said Paolo Bertini, director of the Arezzo youth sector, "it is unacceptable that a day of celebration for 12-year-old children can turn into such a serious episode of violence."
Solidarity with referee Lorenzo Petrelli from president Guglielmo Manzo and sports director Nello Cutolo. The young referee's father, Simone Petrelli, spoke of "an unheard of and shameful act", asking for an "exemplary punishment". In the meantime, Vis Pesaro has distanced itself from the act, suspending the parent involved from access to matches. The referee has returned home after treatment at the San Donato hospital and is expected to take his final exams in the coming days.
(Online Union)
