LONDON, March 3, (APP/AFP) – A teenage referee has organised
a strike which could see thousands of officials withdraw from English amateur matches this weekend in protest at the on-field abuse they
receive.
Ryan Hampson, 18, told the BBC that “more than 2,000 people
up and down the country” would be taking part on March 4 and 5.
There has long been anecdotal evidence that referees in the
English amateur game have been subjected to a range of abuse that
had led many of them to quit football completely, with Hampson saying
he alone had been “head-butted, spat at and punched on numerous
occasions.”
“We’re not safe – we want more help and more security.
Enough’s enough, change is needed.”