Youth Soccer Ref Allegedly Threatened with Gun; Teams Stage Boycott

One youth soccer association in Toronto is refusing to assign officials to games involving the North Scarborough Soccer Club's under-13 team following an incident in which a parent allegedly threatened an assistant referee with a gun. Additionally, no fewer than four teams are refusing to play the Bulldogs. The Globe and Mail reports that on July 12, a Bulldog parent approached the official after a controversial call in a 1-0 loss and allegedly revealed a weapon tucked into his belt. Police were called, but no charges were filed. Neither the parent nor the official has been identified. "There was the threat that there was a weapon," Kent Green, secretary of the York Region Soccer Association, told the paper, explaining the organization's decision not to endanger its officials at Bulldogs games. "Whether a weapon was seen or not seen is not really the point. This is youth soccer and the district's position, quite frankly, is that we're not prepared to put our referees in jeopardy."

"It's just propaganda, nothing like that happened," countered North Scarborough Soccer Club president Byron McCormack, downplaying reports of a gun. "It's not a very responsible statement, and I don't know who's making those statements."

The Central Soccer League, in which all the teams compete, held a disciplinary meeting for North Scarborough last Thursday, according to The Globe and Mail, but league representatives refused to comment on the outcome.

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