A 42-year-old man was arrested in Quebec on Sunday for assaulting a child while refereeing a youth hockey game.
The victim, a 10-year-old hockey player, was participating in a game refereed by the suspect at the Robert-Chevalier rink in Sainte-Foy.
According to witnesses, the official intentionally elbowed the player for an unknown reason. There is no injury to the player.
An arena employee said that spectators – including the victim’s parents – were up in arms after the referee attacked one of the youth players, which appeared to be unprovoked.
“Personally, it surprised me more than it surprised me,” employee told TVA Sports in French. “The parents in the stands weren’t really happy. They started yelling at the referee and decided to call the police.”
The employee said there was no apparent reason for the officer to attack this specific player and that the gestures were not used to isolate a scuffle.
According to SPVQ spokeswoman Sandra Dion, the suspect was released hours later after promising to appear in court.
