Two local sides from the United Premier Soccer League (UPSL), one of the top non-professional leagues in the country, had a thrilling playoff match cut short over the weekend. Last Saturday, a match in Seattle was abruptly suspended after frustrated players crowded a referee, who was eventually chased off the field by a large crowd.
Although a police report was filed, as of now no arrests have been made.
The match featured Sharktopus FC (Seattle) and FC International (Olympia) in the UPSL Washington Conference Playoff Semifinals. Both teams joined the UPSL late in the summer ahead of the Fall 2024 season and finished the 10-game regular season in the top half of the table.
The semifinal at Nathan Hale High School went in favor of the visitors early, with International scoring three goals in the first 10 minutes. After the opener by Emiliano Macareno, the two other goals came from former professionals Dionicio Escalante (C.D. Guadalajara, Querétaro F.C. in Mexico) and Lucas Lezcano (Chacarita Juniors in Argentina). Sharktopus got one back in the 37th minute when Gabe Kellum scored.
In the second half, momentum began to swing. A series of long passes found forward Alex Notzka, a freshman at Seattle University, onside for a low shot into the back of the net. Things got worse for International when Wilmer Renteira was shown a second yellow card in the 60th minute. From there the game began to slip away as Sharktopus looked to capitalize and FCI got frustrated.
In the 3rd minute of second-half stoppage time, the situation took a drastic turn. A corner kick by Sharktopus was headed around the area before a deflected shot rang off the FCI crossbar. The home side pounced on the loose ball and Dane Becker headed it in from point-blank to tie the game, 3-3.
Following this, International’s players began to argue with both the linesman and center referee. During the altercation, the center referee can be seen raising his hand and showing a yellow card to two separate players, most likely for dissent or unsporting behavior, and subsequently presenting each with a red card. That left International with just eight players.
The referee then began walking back to midfield with the carded players and several others still following him. After a few more moments, the linesman was also crowded once again as the International players pointed and appear to argue their case.
At this point, there are two differing accounts of the next action as an International player and the linesman made physical contact with one another. One source claims the player pushed the referee while another states the official “put his hand on the player’s face” to keep him away.
In a video provided to Sounder at Heart, an International player is seen face-to-face with the linesman. However, who made contact cannot be determined.
Regardless, the linesman moved toward the center referee, said something to him, and the center ref blew his whistle to award the match to Sharktopus, which officially goes in the books as a 3-0 win.
As the home side begam to celebrate, the International players once again began to group around the official as the match feed camera panned to the near sideline. At the same time, multiple fans could be seen running onto the field and toward the far sideline.
At this point the publicly available video of the broadcast ends. However, Sounder at Heart has acquired an extended video of the incident which includes three additional minutes of footage.
The camera zooms back in toward the growing crowd in front of the team benches, composed of fans, players, team staff, and officials. One fan in a green jacket, who was seen exiting the stands and running across the field, is seen running towards one fleeing official before turning toward a closer one. The fan then kicks the official, before his own momentum takes him down. The referee now begins to back away as more of the group inches towards him.
The camera eventually pans back to the center referee, who is being accosted by a fan in a brown hoodie and beanie as he backs off the field. Members of Sharktopus, both fans and staff, and possibly others begin blocking and forming a moving wall to protect the official as the crowd begins to grow. At one point, the team helped the official climb a chain link fence to get out of the field area, all while he appears to be making a phone call. He’s then seen running to the high school auditorium as the video continues for about another minute. It is unclear what happened to the other officials, though eye witnesses claim an assistant referee was subject to the same berating and danger as the head official.
The Seattle Police Department received a call for a “simple assault” and responded, though this was not captured on video. No arrests were made, though a witness claims Seattle PD questioned both the referee and fans.
Following the match, FC International released a statement on Facebook which shifted the blame towards the referee. That statement has been included below, which has been translated by Meta from its original Spanish.
“I start by thanking everyone. We start by the players who are great, who give it a break and that unique Inchada we have. The match did not go the way it should and unfortunately due to the wrong decisions of an inexperienced referee we finished the match 3-3 and decided to give the other team the winner. We stay with the positive and not the negative, we say no to violence and look for football to win. Thank you and remember football is Latin America and you live and enjoy it. We are #FcInternational.”
When contacted by Sounder At Heart, FC International’s main sponsor Luis Almada responded via the team’s official social media and condemned the violence but doubled down on the referee’s alleged “inexperience”.
“The first statement I would first make is that we don’t tolerate any type of violence. But we do back the club 100%,” Almada said. “I (watched) the video at least 10 times to get a better idea and everything started with the ref having a bad performance making horrible calls. From yellow cards to players, to repeated free kicks, corner kicks, and a goal (that was) offside. All that is understandable; he's human, he will make mistakes. The last call he made was the one that made everyone furious when he awarded the game to Sharktopus. That’s when hell came down, people ran to the field, players ran to the ref asking what are you doing, and cops were called.
“Someone needs to take responsibility for having a ref on the field that allowed this to happen because of his bad performance and bad calls. What they expect to happen when you award a game to the other team on a goal that the player is clearly offside.”
For clarity, the equalizer scored in stoppage time was ruled onside as an FC International player was on the ground, in front of the ball, at the time of Becker’s header.
He went on to say that FC International will face consequences, and could lose the financial aid it receives from Liga MX side C.F. Pachuca. Almada, as he explained, owns clubs in Spain and Mexico. This situation is already having effects for both teams. Almada says a series of trips planned for International to play friendlies against affiliates abroad are now on hold. Likewise, Sharktopus has been informed by the city that they are banned from reserving fields moving forward. It was explained that there is a zero tolerance for violence on Seattle public school grounds, and Sharktopus was the responsible party on the reservation.
When reached for comment, United Premier Soccer League commissioner Yan Skwara released the following statement on Thursday to Sounder at Heart: “As a result of the incident at the conclusion of the Sharktopus v FC International UPSL game, owner Cristhian Canizal and the club FC International have been suspended indefinitely from the UPSL.”
Sharktopus is now scheduled to play top seed Bellevue Athletic FC in the Conference Final on Dec. 7.
Sharktopus FC manager Leo Ohannesian released the following statement on behalf of his team: “We are deeply saddened by the events that unfolded during the UPSL regional semifinal between Sharktopus FC and FC International on November 23. What should have been a competitive and celebratory match turned into an unsafe and troubling situation, witnessed by families, friends, and supporters… We deeply regret that this occurred and extend our sincerest apologies to the families, fans, and community members present, as well as to the referees who endured this traumatic experience. We commend the composure and leadership shown by our players, who prioritized the safety of the officials, even at personal risk. We are grateful for the swift response of the Seattle Police Department and will continue to cooperate fully in addressing this matter. This incident underscores the critical importance of fostering respect and integrity at all levels of the sport. Let us work together to ensure that such events are never repeated and that our shared love for the game continues to unite, not divide, our communities.”
