Linesman killed by U-17 football players

In a shocking incident in Holland, a linesman died after being assaulted by players during an U-17 youth football match on Sunday.

Richard Nieuwenhuizen, 41, affiliated to Dutch youth club Buitenboys, was attacked by players of the opposing team, Nieuw-Sloten. He was repeatedly punched and kicked by the players and was rushed to the hospital after the incident.

Three Nieuw-Sloten players have reportedly been arrested by the police and have also been banned by the club, which is located in Amsterdam.

The club has also withdrawn from the league and even suspended all club operations temporarily.

Buitenboys, on their official Twitter account, announced the death of the linesman, saying, “With great sadness we announce the death of our @Buitenboys linesman Richard Nieuwenhuizen. Our thoughts are with his family. Our linesman Richard died at 17:30 in front of his family. This violence must stop on the pitch! £stopsenselessviolence.”

SV Nieuw-Sloten, meanwhile, announced on their website, “The board of sv Nieuw-Sloten learned with horror of the death of the linesman of Buitenboys. We are deeply shocked by the fact that the match yesterday degenerated so badly, with this result.

“We express here our sympathy, firstly to the family of the deceased person. Words fail us. In addition, we also express our sympathy to the Buitenboys club and all its members.

“We distance ourselves strongly from the behaviour of the players who are responsible. As an association, when we were aware of wrongdoing, we apologised to Buitenboys.”