Children's tournament abandoned for parents' behaviour

A football tournament for nine and 10-year-olds in Bergamo, Italy, was abandoned due to the behavior of parents. According to Yahoo Sports, the event was organized by Serie D club Villa Valle and involved young referees associated with the club. Organizers and coaches agreed to suspend the tournament during the final match of the day following quarrels that included fighting, spitting, booing opposing teams, and homophobic abuse directed at a child and a referee.

Yahoo Sports reports that some children left the pitch crying. In a social media statement, Villa Valle expressed strong condemnation of the disrespectful and violent behavior, describing it as painful to witness. The club noted that the decision to end the final match early and suspend the awards ceremony was necessary to send a message against attitudes that contradict the values of sport. BBC Sport Football also confirmed the tournament was suspended because of parents fighting, spitting, and shouting homophobic abuse.

Brief written by urgent.news from BBC Sport Football, Yahoo Sports — 2 reports on this story. Machine-written — may contain errors; check the original before relying on it.