Monday, July 26, 2004

Soccer Kills

KENTON-ON-SEA, South Africa -- Police were searching Monday for a referee accused of fatally shooting a coach on the field in a dispute during a weekend soccer game.
Two players from the visiting Marcelle team were injured during the attack Saturday in the Eastern Cape coastal town of Kenton-on-Sea, police spokeswoman Mali Govender said. She declined to identify the suspect or the victims.


"The referee awarded a penalty against the visiting team during a friendly match and then players stormed the field," Govender said. "It looks as if the referee had the firearm on his person and fired at the players first before hitting the coach in the chest."

The coach from Ekuphumuleni died at the scene, she said. The referee fled.

One player was treated at the scene and a second was admitted to the hospital with a gunshot wound in the hand. He was listed in stable condition Monday.

South Africa has one of the world's highest murder rates -- 47.4 murders per 100,000 people, or eight times the figure for that of the United States.

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