Hong Kong 10-year-old arrested after violent youth soccer foul
Last week, Prep Rally covered the disturbing story of a Hong Kong youth soccer match which devolved into a series of nasty, mean-spirited fouls. Now the aftermath of that game has taken a stunning turn, with one 10-year-old from the game arrested for his kick to the head of a 12-year-old opponent.
As reported by the London Telegraph, an unnamed youth soccer player for the English Schools Foundation squad has been arrested for a violent kick to the head of a 12-year-old member of the Kitchee Escola team. The violent kick was captured on video and posted on YouTube, quickly emerging as a flash point across the Internet.
Now the incident has apparently been taken out of the court of public opinion and put into the actual court. The Telegraph reported that the 10-year-old Hong Kong resident was released on bail on Monday after he was brought up on charges following the filing of an official police report by the parents of the student who had been kicked in the incident.
Meanwhile, the ESF claimed it plans to cooperate fully with any police inquiries into the incident.
"I understand that the parent of the injured child has referred the matter to the police and we will cooperate fully with any police investigation," the head of the Hong Kong ESF, chief executive Heather Du Quesnay, wrote in a letter to parents, as obtained by AFP.
While the charges against the younger, white player almost ensure that the incident continues to garner international attention, the coach of the player who was kicked spoke to AFP insisting he didn't think there were any elements of racism involved in the violent in-game foul.
"Don't read too much into it," Kitchee coach Ken Ng told AFP. "It is one boy kicking another boy."
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