Greece, N.Y. -- Cell phone video captures the aftermath of a fight following a Sunday’s girls soccer game in
Greece. Those involved were not players, but their fathers.
“There was culpability on the part of both of them,” says Greece police spokesman Captain Steve Chatterton. He says no one was injured and criminal charges will not be filed.
The cell phone video shown on YouTube contains images of people being restrained. There is also a lot of yelling. The incident occurred after a particularly contentious game between the under 17 girls' teams for Greece and Attica.
“There was a red card issued and some trash talking among the players,” says Mary Arter, president of the Rochester District Youth Soccer League.
The player issued the red card was ejected from the game for “unsportsmanlike or violent conduct, she says.
The two teams have met three times this year with escalating tension. Sunday’s match was part of a tournament. Games continued under tighter security with teams and fans being strictly separated.
“One team had to be on one side and the other on the other side, including parents,” says Cathy O’Leary, a parent whose daughter played in the next game.
She did not see the first game or the shoving match involving the parents. But with four children involved in competitive, elite sports she has seen her share of parents who take it too far.
“I would say half the time people get upset and angry because they don’t like a call by a referee or what the coach is doing,” she says. She uses the moments as a constant teaching moment for her children.
