A high school soccer referee was badly injured after he was run into by a player during a playoff game in Ohio.
The incident occurred during a Tuesday night match between New Philadelphia and Steubenville, TMZ reported.
The whole thing went down when a player on Steubenville was given a red card after he got near the ref and seemingly said something to the official.
The official chased after him and pulled the red card out of his pocket, which upset another player on Steubenville.
That player charged over and slammed into the referee, knocking him to the ground before attempting to run away.
TMZ reported the official was taken to the hospital and was treated for broken ribs and a collapsed lung, but was “doing better,” the Ohio High School Athletic Association told the outlet.
The player who charged at the referee is looking at some potentially hefty disciplinary action following the incident, and OHSAA’s director of communications Tim Stried told WJER that the high school sports governing body is waiting to hear from the school about additional action.
“The OHSAA is aware of the incident and has been in communication with the school,” Stried said in the statement. “The OHSAA is waiting for a response from the school as to the discipline that the school will take against the student-athlete, which will determine if the OHSAA will issue additional penalties. The school has indicated that punishment will be significant, which the OHSAA agrees with. Physical violence against an official is among the most serious offenses that a coach, player or fan can commit and the OHSAA will pursue this to the fullest extent.”
New Philadelphia won the game 2-1.
