On Saturday morning, I went to watch the academy play Sheffield Wednesday. I go to most home games because I love to watch our young players develop. The game was very violent and the referee, quite rightly sent off 2 Barnsley players and 1 Wednesday player. At least 2 more Barnsley players and 1 Wednesday player were fortunate to survive to the end. The referee ended the game early as things went from bad to worse. The referee was powerless to prevent the players from abusing the rules of the game and the 2 coaches should have done more to control their players. As the referee made his way back to the dressing rooms, he was stopped and verbally abused by a Barnsley fan. No physical violence was used, but the ref clearly thought that it was a possibility. The confrontation was seen by the independent assessor. I have been told that both the referee and the asssessor intend to report the matter and that the likely outcome will be a fine and possibly the banning of the public from academy games. Thank-you to the idiot who left his brain at home on Saturday morning.
