‘I’ve Never Seen Anything Like This’: Hibs Coach Punched By Parents At U17 Game Speaks Out
A Hibernians coach who was named by a referee as the instigator of a recent parents’ brawl at an under-17s match has opened up about his version of events.
“I have been involved in competitive sports for over 20 years now (football and waterpolo), I have played in youth categories, and I’ve also played professionally in front of some of the world’s fiercest ultras in East Europe, yet I’ve never seen anything like this,” Stefano Fava wrote in a public statement.
The referee’s report following the Hibs-Pietà semi-final, which Hibs won 1-0, states that Fava was allocated as the Hibernians photographer and was “taunting Pietà players and supporters” during the entire match, thus frustrating them.
“This build-up of frustration caused by Mr Fava triggered the fight that happened at the end with Number 77 of Pietà climbing over the fence to fight with Hibs supporters,” the referee wrote.
“Some parents and Mr Fava also entered the pitch. This led to Mr Fava getting punched in the face by number 77. After some time this situation was calmed by the intervention of officials from both teams, separating both teams aside to stop the fighting.”
View this post on Instagram
The player was given a red card after the game for assaulting Fava.
In a public statement, Fava said he would have preferred to wait for investigations to conclude before speaking out but that it is hard to keep silent when his name is being “thrown in the mud as the excuse”
Fava said he was struck four times to the head, including a couple of blind-sighted ones.
With regards to the taunting, Fava said that towards the end of the game he sarcastically congratulated a Pietà player (number 70) who had just been booked.
“To quote, and this is captured on film, my exact words were ‘prosit, prosit, prosit’. The respective player acknowledged my comment and remarked for me to go down to fight him (also captured on film). To this, my reply was ‘ibqa’ ilgħab, għandek logħba x’tilgħab’ (carry on playing, you have a game to play).”
The referee's report after the game
He said that this was followed by an “endless script of insults, offences, violent remarks and threats by Pietà supporters”, to which he smirked and carried out his analytical and videography duties until the end of the match.
“At no point did I behave in the same threatening manner, contrary to what has been said. As the game finished and my duties were concluded I did what I’ve done in every football match I have worked for Hibernians FC – I started to dismantle my equipment so that I could make my way back home to my parents.”
Fava said that someone tried to kick a ball towards him and failed, after which a Pietà player caught him blind-sided and punched him in the head twice.
“I fixed my hair and walked away amidst a bit of confusion. After a few moments when everything seemed to have started to calm down, a male Pietà Hotspurs supporter runs down the length of the pitch and jumps and punches me at the back of my head (also caught on film). Again, I walked away from the confusion.”
He said that a female Pietà supporter then approached him, seemingly to talk, but ended up punching him twice in the face too. He said that another Hibs coach also suffered a headbutt to the face from another male Pietà supporter.
“It was then that they seemed to calm down and start to shake our hands, after they accessed the pitch, hit us, and walked off to continue the rest of the day,” he said.
“But what if I didn’t continue the rest of mine? What if I never made it back home to my parents? What if one of the punches landed wrong? What if my colleague never made it back home to his wife and kid?”
Fava said that Pietà’s statement, which called him out for “unsportsmanlike provocation”, while condemning the violence that followed, was “disgusting”.
View this post on Instagram
“Last Sunday will forever be a dark day in Maltese youth football. Brawls like that aren’t a result of what one says – they are behaviour and attitudes which have been tolerated and nurtured within a community,” he said.
“I am no saint, and I do apologise to Pieta No. 70 if in any way I hurt him or anyone with my sarcastic congratulatory comment for his yellow card, it was not my intention. As I said, as a competitor I understand that talk is part of the game – however I make sure to never step out of my boundaries. This was definitely shown by not behaving in the same way when several persons chose to come forward and punch me and my colleagues.”
“I had to stand there and take it like a man. But what if it happens again? Who will we blame it on then? Who will be the scapegoat next time? Let’s hope this was a wake-up call for everyone involved, myself included.”
READ NEXT: Żurrieq Resident Fined €5,000 And Issued With Restraining Order After 'Harassing' Miriam Dalli Online
