Skip to content

Spectators, players to be separated after Tlell soccer incident

The Haida Gwaii Soccer League will be separating parents and other spectators from soccer players and their coaches at future games in Tlell, after an incident on the first day of the season Saturday (March 20).Two boys, one from the Masset grade 9-12 team and one from the Queen Charlotte team, started pushing each other, but were quickly pulled apart. RCMP Sgt. Rob Knapton said police were called about the incident and are investigating.Shelley Sansome, president of the Haida Gwaii Soccer League, said she didn't see the incident, but it was discussed by the league organizers."In the future, we're making some changes at the Tlell field," she said. "There will be a separate area for the players to be seated."Ms Sansome said having the teams and their coaches in their own area will make things easier for the referees as well. Right now, the refs sometimes find it difficult to locate the coaches when they are among a large crowd of parents and other spectators.Also, the league has found that a few parents have been yelling at coaches and refs, Ms Sansome said, and is hoping that having them watch the games from their own area will cut down on the shouting.