A teenage referee has quit football in disgust after suffering foul-mouthed abuse from 11-year-olds and their coaches.
League chiefs are investigating a flashpoint which saw the young whistler walk away from the sport he loves.
The official, 17, was targeted during an under-12s game between Dunblane Soccer Club Cobras and Stenhousemuir Community Foundation.
But after enduring an hour-long stream of abuse from the touchline and on the field he has walked away from the game.
A source revealed: “It was non-stop. Every decision the lad made was argued over, and the more the adults were at it, the more the kids joined in.
“The language was shocking. He was just a verbal punchbag for people who are really nothing more than bullies in tracksuits.
“Credit to the ref, he could have started flashing red cards everywhere or abandoned the match, but he was trying to give the boys a game of football and saw it through to the end.
“The whole nation’s up for Scotland in the World Cup yet people like this are destroying the grass roots of the game. No refs – no football.”
With many older refs quitting due to abuse and intimidation, the SFA has been on a drive to recruit young whistlers who, after qualifying, are often blooded in easier pre-teen fixtures.
The bad-tempered game last month at Dunblane High School was at an age group where there are still no league tables and teams of nine play for only an hour. It’s understood that the ref – who we’re choosing not to name – showed yellow cards to two players and a coach but resigned in his post-match report, citing the behaviour of both clubs.
The Scottish Youth Football Association has now launched an investigation.
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In 2024, referees chief Willie Collum personally contacted two teenage officials in the Forth Valley to lend his support after they were targeted during games.
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