8:40PM BST 24 Sep 2012
Halsey, the Premier League referee, has asked police to investigate after he
was subjected to vile messages hours after taking charge of
The 51 year-old, who returned to the game in March 2010 following a battle with throat cancer, was placed in the spotlight after making two pivotal decisions, dismissing Liverpool midfielder Jonjo Shelvey and awarding United a controversial penalty nine minutes from time.
Halsey received two abusive tweets referring to his battle against the disease and made his complaint yesterday, with refereeing union Prospect condemning the messages as “beneath contempt”.
A tweet posted from an account named johnwareing1 read: “I hope Mark Halsey gets cancer again and dies,” while another from lfcjohn259 read: “Mark Halsey should’ve died of cancer.”
Halsey will take charge of the Capital One Cup game between Southampton and Sheffield Wednesday tonight.
He said: “I can confirm that my family have made a complaint to the police. I will be speaking to the police on Wednesday after I have returned from refereeing Southampton v Sheffield Wednesday.”
Halsey has also confirmed he will be in charge of Saturday’s
The abuse was also condemned by match officials’ organisation, Professional Game Match Officials Limited. A statement read: “Our main concern is towards Mark and his family, and like with all match officials, there is a backroom team who are there for them.
“This includes a sports psychologist, who has worked extensively with the select group, including Mark, over the past few years. Mark has already benefited from the support of all of his colleagues and they will continue to back him this week.”
