aCORNWALL Football Association has issued a charge to the AFC St Austell player who allegedly assaulted the referee in a Carlsberg South West Peninsula game against Tavistock AFC.

The incident happened during the Lambs’ first team away game on April 26, which Tavistock won 4-1.

After referee Stuart Kane awarded a penalty to Tavistock in the 88th minute, St Austell player Marcus Martin was sent off by the official for verbal abuse. It was alleged that he then pushed the referee to the floor.

The CFA has charged the former Exeter City player Martin for an alleged breach of FA Rule E3 – improper conduct against a match official (including physical contact/violent conduct/and threatening and/or abusive language behaviour).

Mr Martin has been suspended from all football and football activities with immediate effect. AFC St Austell and Mr Martin have two weeks to respond to the charge.

Devon and Cornwall Police have appealed for witnesses of the attack to come forward.

In a statement a spokesperson for the police said: ‘The 37-year-old referee was reported to have been pushed to the ground by one of the players but suffered no visible injury as a result. No arrests have been made at this stage and enquiries are continuing into the assault.’

Chris Fenner, chairman of Tavistock AFC, told the Times: ‘From our perspective there’s not much to say as it is really something for the Cornwall FA to response to as it’s a legal matter.

‘I wasn’t there myself but I’ve been told one of our players tried to calm down the situation.

‘It’s a shame for St Austell who have been having a very good season, the player himself and of course, the referee. Hopefully this incident is something everyone can learn from and move on. ’