As a youth referee who's been thretened by parents with pit bulls and bats for petty disputes such as this, it's somewhat difficult to stomach whenever a parent doesn't get jail time for assaulting a ref. By law, I, as a ref, CAN'T fight back, or else I CAN GET SUED. If I have to bitch out like that and take the hit or else it'll cost me (and don't think I won't sacrifice my freedom to protect myself and my pride), then these problem parents deserve more than work service, probation and anger management classes.
This isn't like pro sports where heavy fines are handed out. There's so many crazy psycho parents and players who don't get that it's just a damn game, and would act just like this moron would.
Sorry to vent, but you have to look at it from the ref's angle, as much as you'd hate to. Yeah, it's the ref, but a bad call or procedural call doesn't warrant that.
http://sports.espn.go.com/sports/news/story?id=2113242
Alvarez pleaded no contest to two charges
Associated Press
RICHMOND, Calif. -- A former soccer coach who beat a referee bloody during a game for 8- and 9-year-olds was sentenced to 30 days of work service and ordered to attend anger management classes.
Mauricio Alvarez, 33, pleaded no contest to two misdemeanor charges, each carrying a potential sentence of a $2,000 fine and a year in jail.
Alvarez must also write a letter of apology to Bruce Greenlee, 59, who suffered cuts over his eye in the Nov. 20 attack. The referee had forced Alvarez's team to forfeit an end-of-season game because he had no proof that one of his players was younger than 10.
Judge Carol Brosnahan ordered Alvarez to stay away from Greenlee and pay a $100 fine plus attorney's fees.
"The sentence is perfect," Greenlee said Wednesday. "But I would hope there are also ways to make sure he doesn't go near a soccer field again."
Alvarez refused to comment after the hearing. But his lawyer, Juan Hernandez, told the court: "Mr. Alvarez wants me to say he apologizes for his actions. He says he should have known better. He accepts his responsibility."
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