Montreal soccer coach altercation sparks debate about equipping referees with body cameras
A recent altercation at a Montreal-area soccer game has people wondering whether referees should wear body cameras on the field.
The incident happened Saturday after witnesses say the coach of a Lakeshore female soccer team hurled insults at the referee, in front of dozens of teenage players and their parents.
"I told myself, he’s about to break his nose," said a parent who witnessed the incident, but didn't want to be identified because the dispute is still very much alive on social media.
The subject of intimidation is so sensitive that one of the teams involved in Saturday's dispute asked parents and volunteers not to talk about what happened.
The coach from Lakeshore was expelled from the game and later fired by the Lakeshore Soccer Club.
"The Lakeshore Soccer Club in no way condones any mistreatment of soccer officials and/or [aggressive] behaviour on the part of our coaching staff, and our players," reads a statement on the club's website. "The coach has been removed from their coaching duties with our club."
This comes just as the Ontario Soccer Association launched a pilot project to start handing out body cameras to referees, similar to the ones used by some police forces.
"The fact we have to put a camera on a referee doesn't bode very well as a statement to our society," said Johnny Misley, the head of Ontario Soccer.
The decision comes at a time when verbal and sometimes physical abuse by parents and coaches is the main reason why Soccer Ontario has lost 80 per cent of its soccer referees, a phenomenon that is spreading to other sports as well.
"Any tool that we can use to cut down on abuse is very important," said Matthew Bagazolli, vice-president of the Toronto Referees' Association.
But not everyone thinks it's a good idea, including Charlie Ghorayeb, who has coached basketball and football for 40 years in Montreal.
"I was a coach, I lost my temper, I've said things I've regretted, I've raised my voice," he said, adding that parents likely won't care if referees are wearing a body camera or not.
His solution? Referees need better training to learn how to deal with behaviours, not just the sport's rules and regulations.
"I think they need to grow a skin," Ghorayeb said.
But for the parent who witnessed Saturday's altercation, abusive coaches and adults simply don't belong on the field.
"It's as if people have lost all their filters," said the mother of two teenagers, including one who wanted to be a referee but who isn't so sure anymore.
CTVNews.ca Top Stories
Several flight attendants from Pakistan have gone missing after landing in Canada
Multiple flight attendants from Pakistan International Airlines have abandoned their jobs and are believed to have sought asylum in Canada in the past year and a half, a spokesperson for the government-owned airline says.
BREAKING Ottawa public school board, 3 Toronto-area school boards launch lawsuit against social media giants
The Ottawa-Carleton District School Board and three school boards in the Toronto-area have launched legal action against social media giants, accusing them of "disrupting students' fundamental right to education."
Rainfall warnings of up to 90 mm among weather alerts in effect for 7 provinces
Rainfall warnings of up to 90 millimetres, air quality advisories and other alerts have been issued for seven Canadian provinces, according to the latest forecasts.
Tipping is off the table at this Toronto restaurant
A Toronto restaurant introduced a surprising new rule that reduced the cost of a meal and raised the salaries of staff.
A Nigerian woman reviewed some tomato puree online. Now she faces jail
A Nigerian woman who wrote an online review of a can of tomato puree is facing imprisonment after its manufacturer accused her of making a “malicious allegation” that damaged its business.
Donald Trump assails judge and his daughter after gag order in N.Y. hush-money criminal case
Donald Trump lashed out Wednesday at the New York judge who put him under a gag order that bars him from commenting publicly about witnesses, prosecutors, court staff and jurors in his upcoming hush-money criminal trial.
A fight to protect the dignity of Michelangelo's David raises questions about freedom of expression
Michelangelo's David has been a towering figure in Italian culture since its completion in 1504. But in the current era of the quick buck, curators worry the marble statue's religious and political significance is being diminished.
Doctors visiting a Gaza hospital are stunned by the war's toll on Palestinian children
An international team of doctors visiting a hospital in central Gaza was prepared for the worst. But the gruesome impact Israel’s war against Hamas is having on Palestinian children still left them stunned.
China's latest EV is a 'connected' car from smart phone and electronics maker Xiaomi
Xiaomi, a well-known maker of smart consumer electronics in China, is joining the country's booming but crowded market for electric cars.