Abuse of referees ‘worse than it’s ever been’, says Football Association of Wales

Abuse towards football referees in Wales is “worse than it has ever been”, according to the Football Association of Wales (FAW).

Speaking to the current affairs programme Y Byd ar Bedwar (The World on Four), Ceri Williams from the Association’s referee department said: “We are seeing, unfortunately, a really, really big spike in the number of abuse cases that we’re having towards referees, and we’re seeing a massive impact in terms of referees leaving the game.”

She added: “I do think that the consistency of the reports that we’re seeing at the moment is worse than it’s ever been.”

‘Not a safe environment’

It’s a worrying situation for young referees in particular, says Ceri: “The amount of things that they’re having to deal with as under-18s from adults is really quite shocking. It’s not a safe environment at the moment.”

According to figures collected by the FAW, one in every four referees in Wales has experienced physical abuse. Furthermore, one in every three referees who decide not to re-register for the following season state that abuse is the main reason for stepping away.

‘I was terrified’

One person who has suffered an assault on a football pitch is Mark Bowen from Barry, who has been a referee for 25 years.

In October 2024, following a cup match between Rumney Dragons and Elite Eleven in St Mellons, Cardiff, a supporter called Elliott Bessant attacked him.

Mark says that after the final whistle, Elliot Bessant threatened him before chasing after him:

“Unfortunately, he was quicker than me. I remember him kicking me on the bottom of my leg, then I fell and landed on the floor. At that point, I was terrified.”

Mark suffered fractured ribs a result of the attack, losing three weeks of work and seven weeks of refereeing because of the pain.

Out of the game

In October 2026 at Cardiff Crown Court, Elliott Bessant pleaded guilty to assault occasioning actual bodily harm (ABH). He will be sentenced on 19 November.

Following the assault, Bessant was also banned from participating in any football-related activity by the South Wales Football Association for two years.

However, Mark feels this does not go far enough: “In my opinion, he deserves at least five years out of the game. Everyone should be able to come to a football match and feel safe.”

According to the South Wales Football Association, the disciplinary panel had to consider the evidence available to them at the time of the disciplinary hearing in February 2025, including the response of Elliott Bessant, who denied any deliberate physical contact with Mark.

They added that they were not aware of Bessant’s conviction at that time, and that any violence against referees is unacceptable.

Recruitment

Mark is concerned about the impact the abuse is having on the number of people taking up refereeing: “It’s a worldwide problem. Recruitment is one thing, retaining referees is another.”

“It is disgraceful that it happens at all. Nobody deserves what happened to me — no player, no referee, no supporter.”

The Football Association of Wales has shared exclusive statistics with Y Byd ar Bedwar.

These show that reports of violence among supporters and parents in the Gwent area have doubled over three seasons, with 80 incidents recorded in the area last year.

There were also 14 reports of verbal or physical assaults towards match officials’ last season within the West Wales Football Association’s area.

Protest

This comes as referees in Cardiff recently refused to officiate matches in protest against abuse, while a league in Carmarthenshire withdrew its referees after a young female official suffered severe abuse.

It’s vital that football authorities tackle the issue, says Mark: “I expect every authority to be as strict as possible — [there should be] zero tolerance towards violence and abuse towards officials.”

According to Ceri Williams from the FAW: “I think there is always more that we can do. We’re working with the area associations, because, ultimately, we want to make the game as safe as we possibly can for our referees.

“If somebody commits a violent act towards a referee that ends up hospitalising that referee, we don’t want those people involved in our game.”

Watch Y Byd ar Bedwar: Y Chwiban Olaf? (The Final Whistle?) on S4C, S4C Clic, BBC iPlayer, and Newyddion S4C’s YouTube.