Former Premier League star and Match of the Day pundit Ashley Williams allegedly threatened a linesman at a boys’ football match.
The ex-Wales international, 41, was allegedly seen waving a finger at a volunteer official during his son’s Under 15s game at Bromley FC in south east London.
He was then apparently spotted arguing with other parents as tempers flared off the pitch, the Standard reports.
His wife and daughter are also said to have been present, with a source claiming the former Everton defender told the linesman off for swearing in front of his child.
Williams, who also commentates for BBC and Sky Sports, denied making any threats, while a spokesman denied claims the former footballer suggested settling the matter in ‘a car park’, adding: ‘Nothing happened.’
The linesman, Richard Gold, said he received waves of abuse from parents and members of the youth team throughout the heated game.
Mr Gold, 44, admitted the clash with Williams kicked off when he told him, ‘I don’t really give a s**t if I was wrong’, in response to criticism over a decision he made.
The official, from Buckhurst Hill, Essex, said: ‘I then heard who turned out to be Ashley Williams say ‘don’t swear in front of my daughter’.
Former Premier League star and Match of the Day pundit Ashley Williams, pictured in his playing days, allegedly threatened a linesman at a boys’ football match
He was seen waving a finger at a volunteer official during his son’s Under 15s game at Bromley FC, pictured
‘I sort of put my hand up and said ‘fair enough’. But he has then carried it on, saying “you’re a disgrace, let’s take it outside”.’
Mr Gold added that fellow spectators became aware of the argument at this point and that he was ‘intimidated’ given the difference in size of the two men.
He said that he told the referee he would not continue officiating the game if Williams was allowed to remain on the sidelines, and the referee duly sent him off.
A mother, whose son was on the opposite team to Williams’s child, told the Standard that the former footballer had suggested they take the matter away from the field.
She added that the ex-Wales international agreed to leave the pitch once the referee went up to him.
A father recalled that the game had been ill-tempered, with a player swearing at Mr Gold.
He said that when he heard Williams confronting the linesman, he in turn went up to the former footballer and questioned his actions.
A source close to Williams added that the TV star removed himself from the scene when nine parents got their mobile phones out to film the fracas, and that he had not been told to leave by the referee.
The ex-Wales international, pictured on Match of the Day with Shay Given, was then apparently spotted arguing with other parents as tempers flared off the pitch, the Standard reports
The Daily Mail has approached Williams’s representatives for comment.
Bromley FC have also been contacted for comment.
In 2022, the pundit was cleared of improper conduct and violent, threatening behaviour after he was accused of attacking an opposition coach at an Under 12s match.
He was alleged to have ‘completely lost it’ at a kids game in Manchester, in which his son was playing.
However, he said that he was acting in self-defence – which is understood to have been corroborated by the match referee who gave evidence at what has been described as a ‘gruelling’ two-session hearing.
Williams, who hired a lawyer for the case, was thought to have had statements from dozens of witnesses to back up his version of events – with many describing him as ‘a role model’.
He had been accused of entering the field of play to confront a coach who intervened when Williams’s son had an exchange with a child on the other team, before allegedly assaulting the man in front of his son and wife, and refusing to let him go.
But the ref told the hearing, at which Williams made a personal appearance, that the opposition coach had acted first.
Sources close to Williams have disclosed that he was ‘elated’ at the result.
Friends disclosed Williams and his family had been under substantial stress following the charge.
The incident saw the September 18 East Manchester Junior Football League match, between Corinthians and Williams’s TSC at Manchester’s Wright-Robinson College, abandoned.
One source familiar with the case hit out at the FA, saying: ‘They charged first and asked questions later. That’s not fair and it’s the wrong way around. It’s been a very difficult time for Ashley, his family and the team.’
Following the charge a spokesperson for Williams, who won 86 caps for Wales and played for the likes of Swansea, said he had been assaulted and was defending himself. They vowed that the ex-centre-back would be ‘vigorously defended’.
