A soccer referee has been left with a broken jaw after he was allegedly set upon by a suspended player at a game in Sydney’s south-west.
Khodr Yaghi was allegedly attacked after the Greenacre Eagles lost to the Padstow Hornets at Padstow Oval on Friday night.
“I thought I was going to die,” Yaghi told 9News.
The 46-year-old referee of 25 years is waiting for surgery in Liverpool Hospital on a jaw he said was broken in three places, along with “missing teeth and God knows what else”.
Footage from the aftermath of the match appeared to show the referee being punched three times, then kicked in the head.
“He’s going to do a job, he’s a family man, he has four boys,” wife Fay Yaghi told 9News.
Amateur boxer Adam Abdullah, who allegedly rushed onto the field, was arrested after turning up to Bankstown police station with his lawyer.
Six weeks ago, he was suspended after being involved in a brawl during a homeground match.
Police were called to the incident.
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NSW Premier Chris Minns said the allegations were “very troubling” and “completely unacceptable”.
“Treat referees with some respect. They do a difficult job,” Minns said.
“Thank God they do it, we would not be able to run any weekend competitions without them.”
The Greenacre Eagle Football Club said in a statement “all forms of violence have no place in our game”.
“Our club has made the decision to withdraw the team from the competition for the remainder of the 2023 season,” the club said.
Fay Yaghi called for “justice” for her husband.
“It hurts me more because he is from my community,” the referee said.
“He is from my religion, and he is Lebanese like me.”
