Man upset by ref's call at kids' soccer game arrested on battery charges

A 38-year-old man upset with a referee’s call during a children’s soccer game in Riverside County allegedly ended up acting, well, like a child himself.

Authorities said Rafael Delfin Sequeda of Cathedral City was watching a children’s soccer game in Thousand Palms Community Park on Saturday when he got upset with the ref’s call at about 11:30 a.m. and set out on a tear.

Sequeda “ran onto the field, pushed a nine-year-old player to the ground and kicked the referee in the leg,” according to a news release from the Riverside County Sheriff’s Department.

Authorities arrested Sequeda for battery on a child and battery on a referee.

The 9-year-old was taken to a hospital with non-life threatening injuries, and the referee was not significantly hurt.

It’s unclear what call the referee made to set Sequeda off or if his own children were playing in the game.

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-- Ari Bloomekatz

Photo: Rafael Delfin Sequeda. Credit: Riverside County Sheriff's Department