THIS ARTICLE IS PART OF A SERIES OF CASES ORIGINALLY PUBLISHED BY THE FOOTBALL ASSOCIATION AND HIGHLIGHTED BY KENTONLINE IN A BID TO IMPROVE BEHAVIOUR IN OUR GAME

A youth referee was forced to run away from a football player who "threatened to smash his head in".

Alexandradu Andruta was handed a 147-day ban from all football activity, after being reported to the FA for his conduct toward a youth official, while playing for Canterbury United in the Saturday League Challenge Cup match.

The match against Littlebourne, which was played in November, was abandoned due to fears over the referee’s safety.

The FA disciplinary commission oversaw the case against Mr Andruta, who admitted the offence. The report said that his actions “would serve to deter and adversely affect the FA campaign to encourage young persons to take up refereeing.”

Mr Andruta was charged with a breach of the FA Rule E3, relating to improper conduct against a match official.

The charge came over an alleged comment, with Mr Andruta accused of telling the official: “If you give me a yellow card I will smash your head in.”

The report continued: “At the same time the player moved towards the referee in a way that gave the referee cause to run away or similar.”

Mr Andruta responded to the charge, pleading guilty, without offering a statement or any mitigating factors.

The youth referee said in his statement how the match “was going fine” until a challenge occurred, which he did not deem a foul. Three Canterbury players approached the referee to protest.

The referee said that Mr Andruta had “approached him and his assistant still protesting against the challenge, shouting in their faces and getting too close…”

It was when the official went to show Mr Andruta a yellow card that the alleged comment was said to have been made.

The FA report stated that: “As a result of the threat the referee took a step back for his own safety and requested the Canterbury United captain to calm his player Mr Andruta and explained that he will be issuing a red card for this threat.

“The referee called Mr Andruta over when Mr Andruta said, “Remember what I said, tell me what I said to you".

The Littlebourne goalkeeper was said to have intervened “to ensure the safety of the officials”. A mass confrontation followed and spectators also ran onto the field to intervene, resulting in the abandonment of the game.

The FA’s report said that Mr Andruta again approached the referee - causing the official to run away, with Littlebourne players again intervening to prevent him from getting close to the official.

It added: “Even after this, on his way back to the changing room Mr Andruta tapped the referee on the shoulder to challenge the caution. The referee described Mr Andruta as being calmer but still aggressive.

“Again, Littlebourne intervened to protect the referee and prevent an escalation.”

Mr Andruta had a clean record in the game up until this incident.

The FA noted the aggravating factors such as the repeated threat and persistent challenge of the referee and that the threat was made to a youth referee.

Additionally, the FA noted the player’s failure to cooperate with the Kent FA as part of the process. Mr Andruta had the right to appeal the decision in accordance with the relevant FA regulations.

Along with the ban, the player was also fined £75 and required to complete an online education course.