A referee is facing murder charges after football players allegedly forced him to kill a member of the opposing team in southern Malawi, police said Friday.
The referee was overseeing a football match between two local teams , Billiat FC and Chilengo FC, in the town of Thyolo on Wednesday , when Chilengo FC players refused to accept the referee ’ s decision to invalidate a goal, district police spokesman Benjamin Foster told dpa .
In the ensuing scuffle , the referee fled to a nearby house , which the players lit to smoke him out, according to Foster .
When the referee ran out of the burning building, the players forced him to smack a Billiat FC player repeatedly with a stick , the spokesman said .
The player later died of his injuries in hospital, added Foster .
“The referee turned himself over … He is facing murder charges.” he said .
DPA/NAN
