Dutch Teen Soccer Players Charged in Deadly Referee Beating.

  Abcnews

Three teenage soccer players are facing manslaughter, assault and public violence charges for beating a volunteer referee to death following a soccer game this weekend in Almere, the Netherlands.
Richard Nieuwenhuizen was a linesman for a youth soccer match between Buitenboys, his son’s team, and Nieuw Sloten. After Sunday’s game, Nieuwenhuizen, 41, was shaking players’ hands when the three players, two 15-year-olds and one 16-year-old, surrounded him, pushed him to the ground, and began attacking him.

Three teenage soccer players are facing manslaughter, assault and public violence charges for beating a volunteer referee to death following a soccer game this weekend in Almere, the Netherlands.
Richard Nieuwenhuizen was a linesman for a youth soccer match between Buitenboys, his son’s team, and Nieuw Sloten. After Sunday’s game, Nieuwenhuizen, 41, was shaking players’ hands when the three players, two 15-year-olds and one 16-year-old, surrounded him, pushed him to the ground, and began attacking him.

Nieuwenhuizen reportedly initially appeared to be okay, and went home after the attack. When he returned to the field a few hours later to watch another match, he collapsed and lost consciousness. He was rushed to the hospital, where he was pronounced dead Monday. The official cause of death has not yet been announced.

“Football is a mirror of society and, sadly, the same ills that afflict society – in this case violence – also manifest themselves in our game,” FIFA president Michael van Praag said in a statement on Nieuwenhuizen’s death. “Nevertheless, I remain convinced that football – through the example set by the tireless efforts of people like Mr. Nieuwenhuizen – is a force for good, and we must continue use its positive example to educate people against these wrongs.”