Soccer Player Sentenced for Run-In With Referee

A soccer player who butted a referee on the head after being ejected from a game was sentenced to 30 days on a Caltrans work crew and ordered to seek counseling for anger management, City Atty. Jim Hahn said Wednesday.

Municipal Court Judge Ralph Amado also ordered Sabino Rivera, 19, to stay away from the referee and to pay him $226 to cover medical bills for the referee’s injuries. Rivera will be on probation for three years.

Rivera pleaded no contest Tuesday to one count of battery stemming from the Aug. 22 incident.

During a semiprofessional game between the Comunicaciones, for which Rivera played, and the Guatemala Millonarios, the referee called Rivera for a foul and gave him a warning card.

Rivera spat in the referee’s face. In response, the referee ejected him from the game. Rivera head-butted him, giving him a nosebleed and sending him to a clinic for treatment.