Week in Review : MAJOR EVENTS, IMAGES AND PEOPLE IN ORANGE COUNTY NEWS : MISCELLANY / NEWSMAKERS AND MILESTONES
At a football game in La Habra, the referees suffered more injuries than the players.
The referees were beaten up by irate Long Beach Bears fans, who apparently became incensed over what they thought was a bad call, one that favored the La Habra Pee-Wee Raiders.
Veteran referee Robert A. Sims, 43, suffered a broken jaw, and referee John M. Plowman, 36, was battered but did not need medical attention.
County football officials, reacting to the incident, rebuked the attacking fans, saying that violence against referees at children’s games is on the rise and that parents are ruining the sporting experience for their children. At a Father’s Day Little League game in Huntington Beach last June, the Garden Grove father of one of the players allegedly slugged a 16-year-old umpire before spectators could intervene.
Last week’s melee broke out at Esteli Park in La Habra after the Pee-Wee Raiders beat the Long Beach Bears, 7-6. Players in Pop Warner leagues generally are between ages 7 and 14.
Arrested were Mary Eneliko, 36, Poyer Poyer, 42, and Kosena Samoa, 50, all of Long Beach, and Mack Sagato, 33, of Los Angeles.
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