Australian Rules Football: Where Even The Referees Will Hurt You

Most people know that Australian Rules Football is a violent sport.

But did you also know that the referees will also hurt you?

Following an under-18 age group preseason game between the University of Queensland Bulldogs and Kenmore Bears in Brisbane, Australia, a fan/parent named Phil Tagell got into an argument with the referee. The referee won the argument by punching him.

Fisticuffs over a preseason game? It’s a good thing it wasn’t the playoffs, or else he might have shot him.

Before you think this was a fair fight, the guy who was punched by the referee was 61, and the referee was 39.

Phil Tagell had “facial injuries and a 2.5cm-long fracture to the back of his skull.”

According to Tagell, “I have been told by several people to be glad that I’m still alive, because apparently the punch was so good I was unconscious from the moment I was touched. I then did a dead fall backwards onto the concrete where I did most of the damage. I’ve had bleeding and cranial fluid pouring out of my ear and I can’t hear in one ear.”

He’s lucky that it wasn’t Ed Hochuli, or else his head would have been knocked clean off.

Police charged the referee with one count of assault occasioning bodily harm, and he has stepped down from refereeing indefinitely.

“Because of the police investigation we both agreed it was in his best interest and the game’s best interest that he doesn’t umpire from this point onwards. We are very concerned of the nature of the incident,” AFL Queensland chief executive Richard Griffiths said.

That sounds like a very good idea. Might I suggest some anger management classes as well?

AFL Qld bans umpire accused of king hit [Brisbane Times]

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