A children’s football match on Sunday saw several police officers and an ambulance called in after parents began fighting – with one father even grabbing a “large rock” to attack another parent.

The fight, which occurred in the Kordin football ground, began after two players were sent off by the referee.

After this, another player “aggressively” approached the referee to contest the decision, with other players needing to hold him back physically. This led to him to be kicked off as well, TVM reported.

At this point, the crowd began to get riled up.

One parent that was actually assisting the game began to offend the referee verbally, before threatening him by saying he’ll be waiting for him outside the ground when the game ended.

Another parent told him to shut up with the threats.

The fight erupted shortly afterwards, with witnesses describing the brawl as “large”. One man even approached the fight carrying a large rock.

At least two parents entered the actual pitch, where they continued to fight and threaten the referee.

Police officers from the Rapid Intervention Unit as well as District Officers arrived to calm the scene down, separating the fighting fathers.

Soon enough, the match resumed. At the end, the referee was escorted out by police officers – and the San Ġwann nursery ended up with the win with a final score of 2 – 1.