Young ref spat at and abused

ABUSE: referee Jess Lawson

AN amateur footballer vented his anger at being sent off by punching an opponent then abusing and spitting at a young female referee.

Seething Wilmslow Albion striker Adam Finney punched Uppermill FC’s goalkeeper before launching a tirade of obsceneties at referee Jess Lawson after she showed him a red card in the FTB Manchester League Division One match on Saturday. The match was abandoned.

The chaos erupted after Finney had reacted badly to a challenge from Uppermill centre back Matthew Moores and shoved him in the face.

But when 20-year-old referee Jess showed him a red card for violent conduct after 70 minutes, Finney lost control and punched Uppermill ’keeper Aaron Rowbottom.

It’s claimed Finney hurled a string of abuse at five-year ref Jess before spitting at her prompting her to abandon the game. Both teams left the pitch to allow the irate striker to calm down.

Uppermill manager Simon Tait said the incident had left a sour taste: “He felt he had been fouled but the referee played on. Then he saw the red mist. He completely lost the plot, punched our goalkeeper then took the referee aside, screamed at her and spat at her.

“In all my time in football I have never seen anything like that before. Wilmslow’s manager and players were very apologetic and embarrassed by his behaviour.”

University of Salford student Jess said: “I was really shocked when it happened, intimidated — I couldn’t believe it. Refereeing is something I would consider doing in the future. This won’t put me off.”

Wilmslow boss Geoff Thornton revealed Finney had been suspended from the club and condemned his behaviour.

The Cheshire FA is currently dealing with the incident.