A high school football referee has been suspended after grabbing a player in a shocking physical clash after he celebrated a touchdown.
Senior Joelle Rover ran in a long touchdown for Glendale in Thursday night’s 35-6 win over Kickapoo.
But footage captured by photographer ShotzByLogan and shared by KY3 showed a referee forcefully grabbing him as he celebrated.
Rover was left seemingly confused as he put his arms out while the official grabbed his chest plate and shouted something at him.
Glendale head coach Frank Tristan was left immediately upset on the sidelines, being captured telling officials: ‘He doesn’t need to be touching my player. You talk to me, that’s ridiculous. He needs to grow up.’
The Missouri State High School Activities Association (MSHSAA) confirmed the official has been indefinitely stood down from his role.
A high school football referee has been suspended after an incident with a player last week
The touchdown scorer was grabbed by the official in footage filmed from the sideline
‘We were made aware of the situation, and the official in question has been suspended indefinitely,’ they said in a statement.
The incident was raised to Glendale principal Josh Groves by a parent the day after the game. He had been in attendance but did not see the incident.
‘When we saw [the video], we were surprised and made sure that we communicated with the parents of the student,’ Principal Groves told KY3.
‘We talked with Joelle himself, our athletic director checked in with him and let him know that we were going to take appropriate action and just make sure that we followed the proper channels.’
After the school filed a complaint with the MSHSAA, he was pleased with the fast response, adding: ‘We know that that’s not appropriate and they handled it really well, I think, and really promptly. And so it felt nice for us because we know that they supported us and our players.’
The referee involved could appeal the decision, but any such appeal will not be reviewed until next week.
