Full-scale brawl at U14 match

A SCHOOLBOY soccer match erupted into a full-scale riot as up to 80 parents, players and supporters fought viciously in the middle of the pitch, shocked eye-witnesses revealed yesterday.

With the referee’s report on the match between rival Belfast teams St Andrew’s and Immaculata believed to include an account of the violence, the game’s authorities were facing pressure to act.

One source revealed: “There must have been 60 to 80 people having a free for all.

“It went on for about 10 minutes and there was blood everywhere. One of the parents finished up on the floor, people kicking him when he was on the ground.”

St Andrew’s had beaten Immaculata 1-0 in a Northern Ireland Boys Football Association U14 semi-final when the brawl broke out. No sectarian tension was noticed during the game at Crewe United’s pitches near Glenavy, Co Antrim, on Saturday.

After the final whistle, however, a player allegedly punched an opponent. Both sides then traded blows as tempers flared.

“The two teams just had a free for all, kicking and hitting,” said a junior football representative at the match. “Officials from both sides managed to get them separated and we thought that was it.”

But just when the situation was calmed, the father of one player allegedly ran on and struck a teenager on the other team.

“It was bedlam after that,” an eye-witness said. “Adults started wading in and it was like a riot situation. People were being knocked to the ground, kicks and punches were flying.”