A man has been arrested following the 'serious assault' of a football referee in Wigan at the weekend.
The assault took place at a football pitch in Platt Bridge, during the Platt Bridge v Wigan Rose Remembrance Cup game on Sunday (October 2). Greater Manchester Police (GMP) say they are taking the incident 'extremely seriously', and have urged any members of the public with images of video footage of the event to get in touch.
The referee previously named as Dave Bradshaw was taken to hospital was 'significant but not life threatening' injuries.
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The Manchester Evening News understands that the match official suffered broken ribs, a concussion, and a broken nose.
Platt Bridge have confirmed the player who assaulted Bradshaw is no longer with the club and said they are "ashamed of what has happened". A statement released on Facebook read: "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." The club also added: "We have spoken to the ref and apologised."
The referee, who lives in Wigan and is from Manchester, posted on social media after the incident. He said his confidence had been 'smashed to bits' but urged people not to 'tarnish the club with the same brush'.
He said on Monday: "It's been a very traumatic 12 hours, thanks for all the kind words. I've sustained substantial injuries. I'll survive [but] my confidence has been smashed to bits. Please because of one person don't tarnish the club with the same brush. The club are doing great things for the community."
A spokesperson for the Lancashire FA said: "We are aware of incidents of assault on a match official and a player during matches played this weekend in Lancashire. 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 Lancashire FA who are liaising with the police and supporting the match official and player affected."
Senior investigating officer, Detective Inspector John Davies, said: “This is a serious assault in which the victim sustained significant, but not life-threatening, injuries.
“GMP takes assaults such as this extremely seriously and we will be supporting the victim as the investigation progresses, to ensure his wellbeing.
“We are asking if anyone has any images or videos of the incident that took place at the football pitches in Platt Bridge on Sunday, to get in touch with us.
“You can contact us on 0161 856 7094 quoting reference number 2490-021022, 101 or through the independent charity, Crimestoppers, on 0800 555 111.”
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