The coach of Spring Hill elementary school basketball team received 17 stitches after being attacked with a knife at a game. Police in Fayetteville, Georgia, charged Oliver Lewis Wood, the referee, with aggravated assault last week. Police spokesman Lt Tom Kirkbride said Wood pulled out a three-inch blade pocketknife and cut coach Jerry Sweeney on the left forearm and neck.

The confrontation between the two men occurred after a game between teams of seven- and eight-year-olds. Counsellors were made available the day following the incident to all elementary schools in the district as around 20 to 30 children and parents were still in the school gym when the row erupted. The altercation was believed to have been about a criticism of Wood's refereeing skills.