Fan, Referee Altercation Halts Arkansas High School Football Game

Police are investigating an incident between a fan and a referee during a high school football game in Arkansas over the weekend.

Video of the incident, shown below, was shared on social media and subsequently went viral, though Region 8 News in Arkansas reported no one was hurt and the fan was told to leave the game.

A recent story from Outkick.com outlined the series of events that led to the fight during the high school football contest.

Below is an excerpt from the Outkick.com story.

The game, played in Lepanto, Ark., pit East Poinsett County High School against Walnut Ridge High School. The former is located in a town with a total population of less than 2,000. The latter is located in a town with around 5,000.

As the first half came to a close on a one-possession ball game, a fan took issue with how the referee was calling the game. Rather than letting him hear it from the sideline, the fan decided to take matters into his own hands and went rogue.

He ran out onto the field and charged the official, trying to get his hands on the man in stripes. Fortunately, the fan was stopped before he could unleash his wrath on the referee.

Things got a little more than chippy here in EPC. Older gentleman was headed for the referee before he was stopped. pic.twitter.com/dHFlFKSklf

— Hayden Savage (@haydens_kait) September 10, 2022

After the first man (who everybody in the town probably knows by name) was pulled away from the field, you can hear him say “I’d like to knock the hell out of him!”

And then a few others got into the mix. They gave the officiating crew a piece of their mind before things were broken up.

To read the full story from Outkick.com, click here.