NEWARK, Ohio (WCMH) — A fight between a coach and a referee at a youth football game Sunday evening resulted in one person being arrested, according to the Licking County Sheriff’s Office.
A youth football game between the Licking Valley and Watkins Memorial School areas ended with a scuffle between players, all of whom were approximately 12 years old, police said.
The game, while being played at Licking Valley High School, was not an official school function, the sheriff’s office said.
A referee who separated some of the players was “inappropriately confronted physically” by one of the Watkins coaches to the extent the coach was arrested by sheriff’s deputies, according to the sheriff’s office.
Police identified the man arrested for assault as Christopher Deason, 37, of Pataskala.
Deputies and detectives are collecting and reviewing multiple video sources of the incident. All information will be handed over to a prosecutor to determine if further arrests and appropriate charges are necessary.
