Stamp it Out: Margate youth coach banned after trouble at an under-16 match against Ramsgate

THIS ARTICLE IS PART OF A SERIES OF CASES ORIGINALLY PUBLISHED BY THE FOOTBALL ASSOCIATION AND HIGHLIGHTED BY KENTONLINE IN A BID TO IMPROVE BEHAVIOUR IN OUR GAME

An ill-tempered Kent Youth League match was abandoned after the referee accused one of the coaches of threatening behaviour - leading to a lengthy ban.

Ian O’Sullivan stood down from his coaching role with Margate under-16s after being found guilty of improper conduct towards a match official during their game against Ramsgate in October.

A Football Association investigation concluded that Mr O’Sullivan had acted inappropriately towards the referee after being accused of using insulting and threatening language. He accepted the charge and was handed a 147-day suspension.

The FA disciplinary report included arguments and accusations from both teams and painted a picture of a badly-tempered match, with counter-claims of abuse from watching parents and players.

The referee alleged that Mr O’Sullivan told him: “I’ll be waiting for you” which the official took as a threat and abandoned the game.

O’Sullivan accepted the charge but the decision is subject to appeal, which the FA’s report suggested was likely.

The FA disciplinary commission noted two previous misconduct charges as an aggravating factor along with Mr O’Sullivan’s position as a role model for young players.

The match official’s extraordinary incident report alleged that Mr O’Sullivan refused to leave the field of play after tempers flared following a challenge.

The referee said that the coach had told him he was “a f***** c***, s*** ref, cheater and proceeded to say I’ll be waiting for you, which I took as a threat.”

He added that “the anger he showed was not normal behaviour.”

The referee later