A referee was rushed to hospital after allegedly being brutally assaulted by a player he had sent off.
Dave Bradshaw was in charge of the clash between Platt Bridge and Wigan Rose when he gave one of the Platt Bridge players a red card.
The official then suffered a broken nose, four broken ribs, a dislocated shoulder, a broken collarbone, concussion and whiplash.
He was swiftly taken to hospital but has since been released.
Both Greater Manchester Police and the Lancashire Football Association are investigating the incident.
Platt Bridge have confirmed the player in question has already been released.
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Speaking on social media on Sunday evening, Bradshaw said: “Hi all, still at hospital, I’ve sustained significant injuries.
“But I’ll survive, thanks for all the nice messages I’ve received. Up the refs.”
He then later added: “Hi all, been a very traumatic 12 hours, thanks for all the kind words.
“I’ve sustained substantial injuries but I’ll survive. My confidence has been smashed to bits but please, because of one person, don’t tarnish the club with the same brush.
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“The club is doing great things for the community. Up the refs.”
Platt Bridge then tweeted: “We as a club do not condone any violence towards anyone in the football community.
“We are ashamed of what has happened, and the player is no longer playing with our team going forward.
“We as a team hope we can build our reputation back to what we have worked so hard for.”
They added: “We have spoken to the ref and apologised.”
The FA eventually responded to the incident on Monday evening, insisting they will deal with the matter.
They said: “We are aware of incidents of assault on a match official and a player during matches played this weekend in Lancashire.
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“We have been very clear that all forms of anti-social behaviour, abuse and assaults on match officials and participants are completely unacceptable and we will not tolerate this in the game.
“We are investigating the incidents as a matter of urgency, working with the Lancashire FA, who are liaising with the police and supporting the match official and player affected.”
Source: Soccer - thesun.co.uk
