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A man who punched a referee during an Under-7s football game has been told he should be "nowhere near a football match".
Adam Sears was a spectator at the January 7 match at Lord Derby Pavilion in Knowsley Lane in Merseyside, home of AFC Knowsley, when he aimed several blows at the amateur ref.
Following the attack Sears, 29, was found guilty of assault by beating and of using threatening, abusive or insulting language or behaviour against another younger referee, reports Liverpool Echo.
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Appearing at South Sefton Magistrates Court, Sears was sentenced on Tuesday (September 5) and handed a 12-month community order, ordered to carry out 150 hours of unpaid work and pay hundreds of pounds in compensation and costs.
He was also slapped with a restraining order stopping him from having contact with the victims and given a five-year suspension from all football activity.
The adult victim, who cannot be named for legal reasons, shared a video of the attack and slammed Sears' behaviour as he spoke out about the stress the assault had caused him.
"This man should be nowhere near a football match," he said.
"I am concerned that this will happen to someone else who is refereeing a match. People should not be abused just because they are wearing the black uniform."
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It is understood Sears was angered by a substitution during the match and started repeatedly telling a younger referee he would "drop him", gritting his teeth and clenching his fists.
The referee abandoned the game following the threats but the victim questioned Sears about his actions as he was leaving the football ground. It was then the attack took place.
CCTV footage showed Sears getting out of his car before throwing the punches.
The victim said: "I was most worried that he had threatened [the other referee] because he didn't like some of the decisions he had made in an Under-7s match.
"We actually stopped playing in the Merseyside Youth League league for a week after Christmas because of the level of abuse aimed at referees, and then in the first week back I get punched in the face."
Sears' ban from football originally included being barred from all grounds or venues but this was lifted following an appeal, which the victim said he wasn't pleased about as he called on the FA to do more about violence against referees.
"The buck needs to stop with the Football Association, they need to come down much harder on this sort of abuse," he continued.
"They are not doing enough locally or nationally."
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