Man arrested after soccer referee attack
A man has been arrested after an alleged attack on a soccer referee that left him with a broken jaw.
About 10.30pm on Friday – in an altercation captured and shared online – a male spectator allegedly confronted the referee at the end of a soccer match at Padstow Park, in Sydney’s southwest.
NSW Police allege the man assaulted the 45-year-old referee by “punching him multiple times in the face, and kicking him to the head”.
As spectators intervened to render assistance, the attacker allegedly fled the scene.
On Sunday, NSW Police confirmed they had arrested a 25-year-old man, who was “assisting with inquiries”.
No charges have been laid at this stage.
The referee, meanwhile, was taken to Liverpool Hospital with a broken jaw.
According to The Daily Telegraph, the referee – Khodr Yaghi – will undergo an operation on Monday to reconstruct his jaw.
His wife told the masthead the veteran referee was in intensive care, and as of Sunday morning had only just stopped bleeding.
