A red card in a soccer game has turned into a felony charge in 3rd District Court for a West Valley City man.
Ethan Eli Harris, 41, was charged with aggravated assault, a second-degree felony, after throwing an opposing player to the ground and breaking his collarbone in an adult-league soccer match.
According to court documents, that opposing player filed a complaint after the Oct. 27 incident at Falcon Park in Sandy. The man said he and Harris were competing for the ball, and that after he won control “he felt Harris collide with him and push him hard from the back, which is all part of the game.”
But after the contact, “Harris grabbed him from the back, wrapping his arms around him,” picked him up “and threw him to the ground like a martial artist.” And that broke his collar bone.
The referee, who issued Harris a red card, ejecting him from the game, confirmed to police that the incident happened as the victim described. The referee said Harris claimed the victim had “elbowed him in the throat,” but that he “did not see anything like that happen.”
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