Canada: Ontario soccer referees to be outfitted with body cameras to resist increasing abuse

"Last year we had a 16-year-old female official assaulted in a parking lot by angry parents...We had a player in an adult recreation game last year thrown out of the game only to go to their car and pull a machete out of their trunk and chase the referee around the field," Johnny Misley, president of Ontario Soccer was reported saying on Monday.

In response, the Ontario Soccer Association is launching a pilot project to hand some of their referees body cameras, designed to capture any abuse, physical or mental, officials are subject to while on the job.

Misley reportedly said it will likely launch on July 1 and run through the indoor season with a report out next year.

"Human behaviour has changed and we've seen an increase in aggressive behavior toward referees in matches," said Misley and added, "We're taking a zero tolerance approach,"

Ontario's local associations are taking this move following a pilot project already underway in the U.K. to deal with the exact same issue. .

With an increase in both the number and the severity of such incidents, there had reportedly been a decrease in the number of registered referees.

(Reporting by Asha Bajaj)