Football at any level is competitive, albeit the skill sets of the players and the prizes to be won are greater at the more elite level.
The lower down the football pyramid you go, the more ‘industrial’ the game becomes, with respect.
That can also extend to the behaviour of players and staff, as was seen this past weekend in an FA Trophy game before Bristol Manor Farm FC and Paulton Rovers FC.
A supporter video appears to capture the moments after the manager of Bristol Manor Farm has been given his marching orders by the official.
What starts off as a handful of expletives soon turns nasty as the manager, in a threatening tone and demeanour, has to be held back from getting at the referee by at least four of his players.
This is the manager of @ManorFarmFC after being sent off on Saturday against @PaultonRoversFC. In the @FA trophy.
He is a disgrace to the @SouthernLeague1 and needs to be sacked.
There in no excuse for this disgraceful behaviour. pic.twitter.com/PG1ZelvWGb— Refsupportuk (@refsupportuk) October 10, 2021
To the official’s credit, he and his assistants remained calm throughout and simply attempted to ignore the aggressor who was getting more and more irate seemingly because he wasn’t getting a reaction.
Whether this means further punishment for the club is unclear, but there’s no place for it in the beautiful game.