An umpire reportedly lost a tooth after being headbutted by a player during a recent club cricket fixture in the United Kingdom.
The incident took place during a key encounter between Hythe & Dibden Cricket Club’s fourth XI and Fawley Cricket Club’s third XI.
“The individual involved was immediately suspended, pending a full disciplinary meeting. The club contacted the Hampshire Cricket League chairman to report the incident and are working on providing an accurate statement of events to the League Disciplinary Committee,” said Fawley Cricket Club chairman Chris Tona in a statement.
“Fawley Cricket Club is committed to fair play and we are very disappointed this incident occurred. We have a very clear code of conduct which is displayed in our club pavilion and on our website and we expect those standards to be maintained at all times.”
The incident resulted in the abandonment of the match and the involvement of the police, who did not make any arrests.
“We’ve received a brief report and I understand that an official complaint is in the process of being submitted but we haven’t heard from both sides,” added Hampshire Cricket League chairman Denis Emery.
“I know the names of the two people involved, but I don’t know who did what. A cricket bat was thrown at an umpire in another part of Hampshire a couple of weeks ago and we’re looking at that. The level of abuse towards players and umpires has gone up, although I wouldn’t say the level of violence has.”