Soccer referee allegedly bashed in ugly on-field incident is himself charged with assaulting a woman – as new video emerges of the viral brawl which ‘changes the narrative’
- Khodr Yaghi ‘bashed’ in on-field incident
- Viral footage of the incident provoked outrage
- Yaghi accused of assaulting woman in March
A soccer referee heralded for his bravery after being left with fractured ribs and a broken jaw in an alleged on-field bashing has been charged with assaulting a woman.
Khodr Ahmad Yaghi, 45, was attacked moments after the full-time whistle was blown at an amateur soccer match in Padstow Park, in Sydney’s southwest, on May 28.
His alleged bashing at the hands of Adam Abdallah, 25, sparked widespread outrage, with well-wishers raising almost $17,000 for his reconstructive surgery.
The outcry led to a raft of new safety measures designed to keep match officials safe.
But it has now emerged Yaghi was charged with assault occasioning bodily harm and reckless grievous bodily harm after allegedly assaulting a woman about midnight on March 3 while working as a bouncer at the Railway Hotel in Hornsby, Sydney’s north.
Khodr Ahmad Yaghi (pictured) has been accused of assaulting a woman while working as a bouncer in a north Sydney pub in the month before he received a savage on-field bashing
Yaghi did not face court because he recently underwent reconstructive surgery to his jaw after it was broken in three places.
He will face Hornsby Local Court on June 7, according to the Daily Telegraph.
It comes just a day after Yaghi’s alleged attacker, Abdallah, was released on bail after a new video of the incident came to light which appears to show the official throwing the first punch.
Footage shows the two men trading insults as other players and officials try to calm them down.
Abdallah then circles around a group of players to confront Yaghi, who then appears to hurl the first blow before almost immediately falling to the ground where he is set upon.
Other players, spectators and match officials then pile in a bid to separate the pair.
Abdallah was charged with wounding with intent to cause grievous bodily harm and affray.
He has been in custody since May 1 but on Wednesday was granted bail unopposed in the NSW Supreme Court.
New footage of the alleged attack (pictured in an earlier video) is lengthier than the ‘shortened version’ the media first ran with. It appears to show Yaghi throwing the first punch
The prosecutor didn’t oppose bail for amateur boxer Adam Abdallah (pictured) because of new video that was shown to the court on Wednesday
The prosecution said it did not oppose his release because a new video of the incident had come to light since Abdallah was initially refused bail.
‘It somewhat changes the narrative from the shortened clip the media had,’ a lawyer representing the Director of Public Prosecutions said.
The bail conditions require the amateur boxer to remain in his house at all times, unless accompanied by his mother or his wife, who is six months’ pregnant.
Justice Mark Ierace said the conditions effectively confine Abdallah to ‘house arrest.’
As Abdallah has no prior criminal convictions, other than one traffic matter, Justice Ierace said the ‘alleged behaviour would appear to be quite out of character’.
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Read more at DailyMail.co.uk