Five Year Ban for Football Player who Punched a Female Referee

Darnel Mossiah

A five-year ban has been levied against twenty-seven-year-old football player, Darnel Mossiah for punching referee Yuri Daniels. The National Sports Council has condemned what it describes as a cowardly act committed by Mossiah against Daniels. The council says it condemns any act of violence towards any sports official and even more so, any acts of violence towards women and as such has banned Mossiah from all facilities owned by the sports council for the next five years. The council warns that any ‘club or organization who violates this ban, in turn, may find disciplinary sanctions brought against them.’ Apart from being banned, Mossiah was criminally charged. This morning, he was arraigned before the Corozal Magistrate’s Court on a single charge of wounding. He pled guilty to the charge and was fined two thousand dollars. The thirty-one-year-old female referee was officiating a match between San Antonio and Concepcion Village on Sunday, August twelfth, when things got heated with Mossiah. Daniels told News Five via telephone today how the assault played out.

On the Phone: Yuri Daniels, Referee

On the Phone: Yuri Daniels

“From the first yellow card I issued to him, he threatened me. He told me if I gave him a red I will see what he will do to me. I just approached him and told him to cool down because the next time it will be a red. Then what happened in minute twenty eighty. In minute thirty-eight, I issued him a red card for unsporting behavior. When I issued him the red card he was standing in front of me and he walked two feet forward. Then I brought down my head and I started to write the time that it was when I felt the punch in my face. I just dropped. I fainted. I do not remember anything afterward. I just remember one of my colleagues was putting water in my mouth for I to spit out the blood that was in my mouth. From there I fainted again.”

Hipolito Novelo

“Is the first time that this particular player has exhibited such violent behavior towards you or anyone on the field?”

On the Phone: Yuri Daniels

“He has been a violent player from before but in the action that he punched me, no.”

The United Women’s Group, an armed of the People’s United Party issued a release condemning the attack. The UWG says that ‘acts of violence against any official, male or female, should be condemned at all times and regulations should be in place for swift and just repercussions, including disqualification of players who resort to physical assaults when they are in disagreement with the referee’s decision.’