Photo: Getty Images
An adult soccer match nearly went from friendly to deadly when the referee pulled out a gun.
The match on Sunday, August 15, between recreational teams from Pauls Valley and Oklahoma City was going fine until referee Davi Bazeth made a call a player didn't like.
“The referee pulled what’s called a red card and the guy didn’t take it well," Pauls Valley Police Chief Mitch McGill told KXII.
Bazeth wanted to eject the player from the game, which led to a shoving match between the two men.
The referee then left the game to go to his truck. He returned to the soccer field with a gun.
The player who got the red card saw “Davi work the action of the gun, point the gun in the direction of him and the other spectators and players near the playing field, and fire one round from the pistol," according to the police report.
Luckily, no one was hit.
“It is very dangerous. It could’ve been a very bad situation. You have families there, you have not only the adult spectators and players, but you have children in the area," assistant police chief Derrick Jolley told KFOR.
Bazeth went back to his truck and drove off, but police quickly caught up with him. Authorities found a .380 caliber pistol in the truck.
He was arrested and now facing a felony charge of pointing a firearm.
“We don’t have a lot of shootings in Pauls Valley so this was very odd,” McGill said. “Obviously at a soccer game where most the time we don’t have problems at the soccer field so this is an oddity.”