Parents Brawl at Boys Soccer Game

Monday, September 11th 2000, 12:00 am

By: News On 6

SOUTH BRUNSWICK, N.J. (AP) â€” A tied soccer game between 8- and 9-year-old boys ended in a brawl among their parents Sunday after a disagreement over where a coach was standing, police said.

A shootout was to take place between the teams â€” one from Staten Island, N.Y., and the other from North Hunterdon â€” but before it could, a Staten Island coach argued that a North Hunterdon coach shouldn't be allowed to stand behind the goal.

The argument escalated into a fistfight with as many as a dozen parents and coaches involved. No children were involved, South Brunswick police Officer Jim Ryan said. Even after police arrived, parents were still yelling at each other, he said.

Ryan said a coach and a parent claimed to have been assaulted, but no one was seriously injured or arrested, police said. Both teams were escorted from the field, and neither was declared the game winner, Ryan said.

The fight was just the latest case of parental rage at youth sporting events this year. In August, a hockey dad was indicted on manslaughter charges in the beating death of another father at a game in Massachusetts, and a baseball coach was accused of breaking an umpire's jaw after a disputed call in Florida in June.

â€”â€”â€”

On the Net:

National Alliance for Youth Sports: http://nays.org