A youth soccer coach is recovering from injuries after an angry parent beat him with a metal water bottle at a match Saturday in Northern Virginia.
According to USA Today, the attack happened during a boys' team scrimmage in Manassas, Virginia. Coach Vince Villanueva was filling in for a friend when he was approached by a parent of a player on his team.
"I saw one of the players kind of off with his dad, and he looked upset, and I said, 'Are you ready to go back in?' The dad said, 'No, he’s not OK. Can I talk to you?' and I said, 'Sure,'" Villanueva told NBC4 in Washington.
As Villanueva briefly turned his attention to the field, he was struck by the water bottle and fell to the ground.
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Other parents called 911, and the man who allegedly attacked Villanueva fled the scene. Prince William County police eventually arrested Blerand Hoxha, 45, and charged him with malicious wounding.
Villanueva − who works for the county school system and coaches the girls and youth club soccer teams at Potomac Senior High − was diagnosed with a fracture to his orbital wall.
"My big thing is, just allow your kids to enjoy it," Villanueva told NBC4. "Let the volunteers and people that are out there trying to help your kids, allow them to do that too, and support them."
Villanueva said he is now reconsidering whether he wants to continue coaching.
"Seeing the escalation of violence toward coaches and game officials and stuff like that within these sports," he said, "I’m still processing thinking about, is this something that I want to continue doing?"
