EDINBURG, Texas - A bizarre incident during a high school playoff game in Texas on Thursday left a referee with injuries after being attacked by a player he had just ejected.
Edinburg High School defensive end Emmanuel Duron was penalized for shoving another player to the ground and attempting to tackle the opposing team's quarterback after a play was over The Monitor reports.
Referee Fred Garcia ejected Duron from the game for the two unsportsmanlike penalties.
After Garcia announced the ejection, Duron charged back onto the field and slammed into the referee, causing him to fly back into the artificial turf.
Duron's teammates and coaches held the player back while crews attended to Garcia. Four off-duty police officers escorted Duron out of the stadium and away from the premises.
Garcia was able to walk off the field on his own and was evaluated in an ambulance outside the stadium. He was reported to have suffered a concussion and a shoulder injury.
After the delay, the game resumed and Edinburg ended up defeating Pharr-San Juan-Alamo 35-21 to advance to the playoffs, The Associated Press reported.
But on Friday, the team was removed from the playoffs by the school district, the district announced in a statement.
"The district has decided to remove the Edinburg High School football team from the playoffs after an unexpected incident involving a student that occurred during a football game on December 3, 2020," the district said. "We extend a sincere apology to the referee and his family. On behalf of the Edinburg CISD Board of Trustees and administration, we apologize to the athletes, staff, and our school community. We will take the appropriate disciplinary action once we understand the facts and circumstances underlining this incident. The district takes these matters very seriously; however, we cannot comment further on a pending investigation."
Duron was charged Friday with assault and is being held in jail on a $10,000 bond.
The Monitor reports Duron was suspended from the school's soccer team for a similar incident last season.
This story was first reported by Jeff Tavss at KSTU in Salt Lake City, Utah.
