Former Premier League star Ashley Williams has been accused of threatening a linesman during a bust-up at a boys’ football match.
Pictures show Match Of The Day pundit Williams, 41, whose son had been playing in the Under-15s game, pointing his finger at the volunteer match official - with video showing him remonstrating with parents.
Williams denies making any threats, with a source saying the ex-Everton and Swansea City defender had instead told the linesman off for swearing in front of his young daughter.
A spokesman for Williams, who commentates for the BBC and Sky Sports, also denied claims he offered to settle the matter with the official in “a car park” and insisted: “Nothing happened.”
Father-of-three Williams been watching his son play for a junior team at Bromley FC in south east London with his wife and daughter when tempers became frayed.
Linesman Richard Gold, 44, told The Standard that he faced a barrage of four-letter abuse from young players and their parents during the game.
Mr Gold, from Buckhurst Hill, Essex, said the confrontation with Williams was triggered when he reacted and said “I don’t really give a s**t if I was wrong” in frustration at the criticism he suffered.
He claimed: “I then heard who turned out to be Ashley Williams say ‘don’t swear in front of my daughter’.
“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’.
“That’s where other people heard it and seen that he’s acting in a threatening manner.
“It’s just the attitude of the man, someone who has been a professional player. I’d be no match for him in a fight. I found it intimidating to be honest.”
Mr Gold said he then alerted the referee and informed her about the encounter.
“I called the referee over and said what had happened, adding more or less that I wasn’t willing to carry on unless he was removed from the sidelines. She removed him, in theory sent him off.
“I don’t get paid and I think what’s the point if I’m getting that from someone who’s a role model.”
A mother, whose son was on the rival side, alleged: “Ashley said ‘I’ll meet you over there’ and pointed away from the pitch.
“People started getting angry thinking he was talking about one of the 14-year-old players. He reversed it and said ‘I’m talking to the linesman’. Either way, it was a bad situation.
“The referee came over and asked him to remove himself from where we were. He did that with no argument.”
One father, who was standing on the side of the pitch, described the game as “heated”.
He said: “Both sets of boys were getting irate with the referee and passion was quite high.
“Some of the parents were shouting at her, not to abuse her, but because she was totally oblivious to the linesman raising his flag for an offside or an incident.
“Richard was being abused by one of the boys on the Bromley team and the player swore at him when he didn’t like decisions. It was very disrespectful. There was effing and blinding.
“I then became aware of Ashley becoming very angry. I didn’t hear what Richard said to him but I heard him (Williams) say ‘let’s take this out to the car park’.
“I went over to Ashley and said ‘what the hell is wrong with you? It’s a kids’ game of football.’”
The former Wales captain removed himself from the melee when “nine parents from the opposing team got their cameras out”, a source close to Williams said.
He was not sent off by the female referee, the source added.
They said Williams and other ex-professionals are so fed up with confrontations that they no longer want to go and watch their children’s matches.
They added: “I get that parents need to be involved or else kids’ football disintegrates but you’ve got to treat it, as Ash does, that it’s just a game.”
Both the club and the Football Association were approached for comment.
A report of Saturday’s match on Bromley Academy’s website makes no mention of the incident.
The club said the U15 side “showed maturity and composure” and “maintained structure and discipline throughout” to win 1–0.
In 2022, Williams was cleared of improper conduct and violent threatening behaviour after he was accused of attacking an opposition coach at an Under 12s game in Manchester in which his son also played.
He allegedly “completely lost it”, but an FA hearing found he had been acting in self-defence.
Williams’ former Match of the Day colleague Gary Lineker has previously written about parents screaming abuse from the sidelines, and how it is killing their children’s love of the game.
Lineker, who is a father of four sons, said he had stood on the touchlines many times, and been astonished at the “abuse” he had witnessed.
In March, the FA held a National Silent Support Weekend which promoted good behaviour among spectators amid pressure to win youth fixtures creating an “aggressive atmosphere” that is pushing people away from the sport.
Parents have been banned from attending their children’s sporting events in a London borough amid reports of bad behaviour from watching parents.
The Merton School Sport Partnership, which runs sporting and physical education events across more than 40 primary schools in the southwest London borough, wrote to parents to say that they would no longer be welcome at “the sports events we deliver to our affiliated schools during the school day”.
These include football and hockey tournaments and gymnastics championships.
