”Grassroots referee Satyam Toki has expressed his shock after the player who attacked him during a game was given a police caution. 

Toki was attacked by a Sporting Club de Mundial player last month, who seconds earlier had been dismissed for using threatening language towards the official. After the red card was shown, the player punched Toki three times. 

The player, who has been “completely removed” from the team, was yesterday issued a police caution as well as a 10-year ban from London FA. The Metropolitan Police issued a statement claiming the poice caution came after “careful consideration of all the factors” and reiterated that the attacker was not arrested. 

However, this punishment has been condemned as lenient by many in the football world, not least in refereeing quarters. It sends an alarming message to referees – and would-be attackers – around the country.

With this outcome comes a failure to truly condemn such behaviour and sets a worrying precedent for what is acceptable within the game, which does more to deter referees from staying involved in the game for fear of such acts, rather than those who commit them.  

The incident

Toki was attacked during a pre-season friendly in Acton, West London, on 9 August. The player had previously been warned about his language, eventually being sent to the sin-bin for 10 minutes.

Speaking to the BBC in the aftermath of the incident, for which Toki required an ambulance, he said: “He started walking towards the bench and while walking away he threatened to see me after the match.

"That was the point where I showed him the red card and got punched immediately in the face. I almost lost my vision for a couple of seconds, followed by excessive bleeding." 

The 28-year old train conductor initially expressed doubts about whether to press charges for fear his attacker may lose his job, but admitted:

“On the other side, if I don't press charges, in the future he might do the same thing to another referee." Toki eventually approached the Metropolitan Police two days later, on 11 August. 

The outcome

The police claimed no contact was received regarding the incident until 21 August, with Toki criticising the delay in the police taking his statement. Despite footage of the incident circulating widely on social media, the police said "Following initial enquiries, no allegations were substantiated.

"The victim subsequently contacted police on Friday, 21 August and confirmed he wished police to pursue the matter. An investigation was launched, and officers spoke with the victim. A man has since attended a west London police station by appointment for a formal interview; he was not arrested.

"After careful consideration of all the factors he has been offered a police caution. The victim has been kept informed throughout the process."

A caution does not act as a criminal conviction but can be used against the subject in future instances of criminality. 

London FA, meanwhile, said its 10-year ban for the player, who admitted to the offence, was appropriate given the “high-rated sanction. 

"This incident was investigated, charged and heard within the regulatory time frames set out by the FA and the player was under an interim suspension order until the case was heard.

"Given the serious nature of this incident, London FA and the FA arranged for this case to be heard by an independent national serious cases panel."

The response

Toki has said that the sanction sends out a poor message about protecting officials, and said he believed the police “haven't done their job properly.”

He added, “There have been incidents in the past where they have taken individuals to court.

"I didn't want to mention it, but it feels like discrimination against me. If something had happened against a white official, would it have been taken more seriously?"

Ref Support UK, a charity which offers advice and support to referees across the country and has been in liaison with Toki throughout, has condemned the outcome of the police investigation. Chief Executive Martin Cassidy claimed, "The simple caution sends the message that it is acceptable to punch a match official three times.”

Analysis: Response sets a worrying precedent that referees are expendable

Whether race is involved in the decision or not as Toki has alluded is for others to decide. Regardless, this incident – from start to finish – has shown in all its ugly glory how attacks on referees are still not taken seriously. From Toki being asked not to report the attack, to reportedly having to wait 10 days for a statement to be taken, such behaviour on a football pitch is seemingly given a free pass.

Label it what you like; this is assault. 

Cassidy labelled the police decision to only caution as an “irresponsible response to the very serious subject of referee abuse and assault.” Speaking last month, he criticised the apparent confusion over who is there to protect referees, leading to referees being too scared to report assaults. 

"When you cross the white line on to a football pitch the laws of the land appear to be left behind and people can assaults referees.

"The police will say 'oh it is an FA matter,' and the FA say we can't deal with it until the police say if there is a charge or not."

There certainly appears to be a gap which no-one seems too clear on how to bridge. In the meantime, it is referees who fall into the canyon. Some statistics have revealed that 15% of match officials have reported physical assault whilst refereeing, and referees have ended up in hospital before, as their harrowing stories show. 

The FA released a statement last month that said "London FA and The FA take any assault on a referee extremely seriously.

"While only 0.01% of approximately 850,000 matches played each season in grassroots football include a reported incident of assault, we recognise that any assault or incident of abuse is one too many."

Yet for the player receive a 10-year ban is, for many referees, almost an insult. A penalty such as this suggests, certainly to Cassidy and others, that such behaviour still has a place within the game, but with mere 10-year delays. For players who believe this kind of behaviour to be acceptable, the fact that they are allowed back into the game at all after a few years may well be a risk they are willing to take. Indeed, the Disciplinary Sanctions Guidelines available on the London FA website claims that assaulting a match official warrants a ban with a minimum term of just five years. 

Referees play a vital role within the sport and are not expendable, nor are they in abundance. 6,000 leave the English game every year. The player who committed this attack may well return to the sport; after all, he can. For Toki, and other referees who have been in his position, returning to the sport may be too much to bear – you cannot blame them. For those who are considering becoming a referee, such incidents will do little to entice the next generation of match officials until they are punished appropriately. 

Cassidy claimed that he has previously requested for match officials to be classed as being in a vulnerable role, which would as a result provide greater legal protection and make any case chargeable regardless of mitigating factors. 

He claimed, "We believe nothing will change until a match official is murdered and if that does happen, like it has in other countries, we will remind the FA of the opportunities they had to protect referees more and failed to do so. This is one of the opportunities."

But while officials wait for greater protection, until something is done to truly deter attackers from this type of vulgar behaviour, it will only ever continue to rear its ugly head within the game.