Amsterdam team exits football league after referee assault

The seniors team at Amsterdam football club SV Nieuw Sloten have voluntarily withdrawn from league competition, and the entire team was suspended by the club, media outlets De Telegraaf and AT5 reported on Monday. The team pulled out of competition after several of their players were accused of attacking match referee Glenn Janson, 21, during a Saturday match against DCG. Janson said he was aggressively confronted by one player after giving another a yellow card for a handball violation. After cautioning the second player, he insulted Janson, who then gave him a second yellow and a red card, ejecting him from the match. A third player came up from behind the referee and swatted the card from his hand, before striking him in the head. More Nieuw Sloten players rushed the referee, Janson said, but the team captain intervened. With the help of DCG players, the referee was safely taken off the field. Nieuw Sloten chairman Frans Mobron made the announcement, saying that the club has a rule that the entire team is responsible for individual player’s actions. He told the team on Sunday. “The guys saw this coming. We have clear agreements about behaviour on the pitch and at the club, and these were not adhered to,” Mobron said, according to the Telegraaf. Further sanctions could be handed down against the team or individual players by Dutch football association KNVB. Referee Richard Nieuwenhuizen died from injuries he sustained when he was attacked by Nieuw Sloten players and a parent during a December 2012 match. Most of those accused in the case were convicted in the assault, and received lifetime bans from participating in the sport.