Dorset referee reports being chased by parent to police

A referee who was chased by a parent following a youth football game said he was reporting it to police.

Roger Hughes had been overseeing an under-18s match between Portland United and Merley Common in Dorset on Sunday when the incident took place.

Footage of the altercation has been shared widely on social media.

Mr Hughes told the BBC: "I just really hope we can stamp this out and stop this happening because soon a referee might get killed."

Both clubs said they were looking into the matter.

Mr Hughes, who has been a referee for 12 years, said the parent was acting as an assistant referee during the match when he disagreed with one of his decisions.

"He then started walking towards me, I was walking back, and then he started chasing me down the pitch.

"I just hope people begin to realise that we are human ... humans make mistakes," he said.

Video of the incident posted by the Ref Support charity has been viewed more than 2.5m times on Twitter, now known as X.

"This is yet another sign of how football is falling into an abyss of abuse and people want us to shut up about it," it said.

Roger Vaughan, chief executive of the Dorset Football Association, said the incident at the Camp & Satherley Stadium on Portland portrayed an unfavourable image of grassroots football.

He added: "I've been a referee myself for 30 years … as a referee you go out, do the best you can.

"You don't go out to referee to be chased around the field."

Dorset Police has been approached for comment.

In a statement Portland United FC said: "At the conclusion of the football game a uniformed football official and a non-uniformed opposition official allegedly had an altercation on the pitch. 

It said it had forwarded evidence to the relevant governing body.

Merley Cobham Sports FC said it had "complete and unwavering support" for match officials.

"We are currently co-operating with the relevant governing bodies, but at this time due to the delicate welfare issues at hand, we are unable to comment any further," it added.

Portland United won the match 2-1.

Hundreds of grassroots referees told the BBC earlier this year that they fear for their safety when refereeing and are dissatisfied with current measures to tackle abuse.

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