Female official in Argentina allegedly threatened to ‘beat the s*** out of’ a player she accused of attacking her
Deportivo Merlo midfielder Emmanuel Frances insists assistant referee is a 'pathological liar' after punch claims
Sponsored by
A FEMALE official in Argentina allegedly threatened to ‘beat the s*** out of’ a player she accused of attacking her.
Deportivo Merlo player Emmanuel Frances claimed the assistant referee Maria Eugenia Rocco made the threat when he approached her to ask why he had been sent off following a full-time scuffle.
The midfielder had seen red at the end of a highly-charged third division league match with Argentino de Quilmes when Rocco claims he had punched her in the neck.
Keep up to date with ALL the latest football news, gossip, transfers and goals on our club pages plus fixtures, results and live match commentary by clicking HERE
Merlo were angered after referee Jorge Broggi allowed a pair of controversial late goals in the 2-1 defeat.
And it is alleged irate midfielder Frances assaulted Rocco in a clash after the final whistle. Rocco was not hurt in the alleged incident.
The experienced official – who has run the line at a number of international events, including London 2012 – later told reporters she could not believe what had happened.
She commented: “When the game finished, before going to the changing rooms, there was a lot of commotion.
“Several Merlo players went to protest to Broggi. I ran to separate them.
“They were claiming the first goal was a handball. I told the coach to calm down – and that we could talk about it calmly later.
“At that time came police to protect us, I was behind Broggi and felt a strong blow to my back of my neck. I turned and saw the No7, who ran away.
“At first I thought the attack was aimed at the referee or somebody else. But that wasn’t possible as I was on my own. He ran and joined his team-mates.
“I couldn’t believe it. I couldn’t believe he had hit me.”
Rocco has since lodged a statement with the police as well as the Argentinian Referees Association.
However Frances has refuted the claims – insisting the official is a ‘pathological liar’.
Giving his version of event to Argentinian broadcaster , he insisted: “It never went through my head to hit an assistant or a referee – I have never done it in all my career.
“This woman is a pathological liar. It is the right word because she is lying.
“I too will look into my legal options, because it is a lie.
“I went to the changing room to ask the referee why I had been sent off and the woman verbally assaulted me - and wanted to attack me.
“She told me: ‘Get out of here you son of a b**** because I’m going to beat the s*** out of you.’”
Argentinian referees chief Federico Beligoy confirmed he will investigate the incident.
He said in a statement: “A report has been presented to the AFA and we will act according to the seriousness of the act.”