The father of a young player has been accused of viciously assaulting a coach during a youth soccer game in Virginia.
Vince Villanueva has told FOX 5 D.C. he was attempting to make a substitution in a game on Saturday afternoon when things took a wrong turn. He says the beating left him with a broken eye socket and other injuries, with the dad in question using a metal water bottle in his attack.
“The father went over to talk to the son and then when I went to get him and put him back in the game, I said ‘Are you okay?’ And he said, ‘No he’s not,’ and he said, ‘Coach can I talk to you?'” the coach told the outlet.
“Then everything went downhill from there.”
Villanueva wasn’t even supposed to be coaching and was filling in for a friend. He recalls getting hit with the water bottle several times. The blows left him with facial injuries, including two black eyes and a fractured orbital.
His assailant fled the scene but was arrested by William County Police. He has since been identified as 45-year-old Bletland Hoxha and is being held without bond following a charge of malicious wounding.
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“Allow them to do their job and just, you know, just make a fun environment,” Villanueva says to parents who lose their tempers at sporting events.
“Kids have enough stress in life with everything else in the world. Allow them to have that moment, someplace to escape from it.”
