Match is halted after five red cards (From Kidderminster Shuttle)

Match is halted after five red cards

2:00pm Saturday 23rd February 2013 in Local

A WYRE Forest football team had five players sent off after tempers flared in a Worcester and District League Division Two clash on Saturday.

The match between Katy O’Ryan’s, who play at Wilden Village CC, and Malvern Hills was abandoned after 42 minutes after a slew of dismissals.

O’Ryan’s were reduced to six men for offences ranging from violent conduct to improper and insulting behaviour towards opponents.

It forced referee Darren Amor, who also booked two other Katy O’Ryan’s players, to stop the clash at Wilden Village CC three minutes before the interval with the score 0-0 as teams are not allowed to field less than seven players.

According to Malvern Hills official Daniel Tedds, Amor halted the match amid safety fears for the visiting team after tempers flared.

He claimed: “It all kicked off and the referee decided to abandon the game because of of our safety.”

Each of the five players will be suspended from Saturday, March 9, with a trio facing three-match bans and the others missing two games.

The Worcestershire Football Association have also charged the Stourport-based club with multi-player misconduct for having more than six players cautioned in a single match.

Katy O’Ryan’s, who are second in the Division Two table, could yet be hit with further punishments by the league following the incident.

Worcester League secretary Tim Phillips said: “The league are extremely disappointed to hear of the abandonment and will wait for the Worcestershire FA action and investigation to be completed before we consider any further action.”

Chris Dale, disciplinary manager at the Worcestershire FA, added: “These type of things are an unusual occurence and fortunately it doesn’t happen very often.

“It’s not a situation we like to see but we have to deal with it when it arises.”

Katy O’Ryan’s were unavailable for comment, while Amor, who has submitted a report to the county FA, declined to comment when contacted.