Even Michael Myers, of Halloween fame, didn’t get his start at such a young age.
An 11-year-old is facing a disciplinary hearing in New Zealand after tackling a referee to the ground and punching him in the face. After being yellow carded for a tip tackle, the kid apparently flipped out, according to the New Zealand Herald.
“One parent, who did not wish to be identified, said that the player was walking towards the goal posts when he turned around and “gave the ref the finger”, before running at him.
“The ref had his back turned and was blindsided by the boy who dropped him to the ground,” the witness told TVNZ.
“There was a bit of a scuffle on the ground and then the player punched the referee.””
Apparently, the referee escaped the melee uninjured but has been left shaken by the incident. Auckland Rugby Union will decide whether or not a lifetime ban is warranted. Maybe he will be put in sporting isolation only to explode back onto the scene when he turns 21.
According to a profile of Luis Suarez written before last year’s World Cup, he headbutted a ref during his days as a schoolboy player, and he seemed to turn out… okay. Actually, maybe that is a bad example.
