The Portuguese Association of Football Arbitrators (APAF) today repudiated the aggression, on Sunday, of an arbitrator of district championships, demanding “a clear response from all entities with responsibilities in football and in the safety of sports courts”.
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28/09/2026
by
Lusa
“ A APAF (...) strongly repudiates the serious events at the meeting between the Olympic of Montijo and the Cova da Piedade, the championship of the 1st senior division of AF Setúbal, in which an assistant arbitrator was attacked with a garbage bucket, thrown by a viewer who, according to the information available, was eventually identified”, indicated the body, in a statement.
For APAF, “nothing justifies an assault on an arbitrator, a player, a leader or any other agent involved in the game”, so “it is necessary that these cases be investigated, judged and punished quickly, firmly and exemplaryly”.
“APAF requires a clear response from all entities with responsibilities in football and in the safety of sports grounds. Prevention of violence cannot exist only in discourse. It has to exist in action. Those who attack an referee must realize that their actions have real consequences ", warned.
The assault on the assistant referee motivated the suspension, at 43 minutes, of the meeting between the Olympic of Montijo and the Cova da Piedade, of the fifth day of the Series D of the Cup Joaquim José Sousa Marques of 2026/27, of the Football Association of Setúbal, played in Montijo, at a time when the visiting team won for 2-1.