Rotherham football match abandoned after manager punched

A football match was abandoned after crowd trouble led to a team manager being punched in the face.

Trouble flared in the second half of Kiveton Miners Welfare's Central Midlands Alliance League clash against Hatfield Town in Rotherham on Saturday.

Kiveton said their manager Moussa Diouf was hit after violence erupted, leading the referee to abandon the game.

League secretary Paul Vallance said the trouble began when "everything went barmy in the stand".

According to Hatfield Town boss Craig Pattison, the 11th tier-match had been played in good spirits until that point, with home side Kiveton leading 1-0.

He described the trouble as "handbags", but Kiveton said Mr Diouf was left bleeding from his mouth and with swelling to his face after he was "assaulted".

A spokesperson declined to comment further due to an ongoing investigation into the incident by the Sheffield & Hallamshire FA, they said.

The association has been contact for comment.

Mr Vallance said the referee's report of the match mentioned an argument in the stand which turned violent before players and staff rushed over to get involved.

"Everything went barmy in the stand," he said.

"At that point the Kiveton manager got punched."

Mr Pattison said: "I'm just glad we had a good official who took charge of it all."

South Yorkshire Police said they were not aware of the incident.

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