Cllr Michael Posner, of St Lawrence Lane, Ashburton, writes:

I wish to publicly record my feelings following the abhorrent and unprovoked attack on the match referee, Donald Distin, at a football match at Ashburton last weekend.

Donald has quietly devoted his life to our community. After managing the youth football teams in Ashburton for an extended period, he became a town councillor; a former mayor of Ashburton; the current Master Bailiff to the ancient Courts Leet and Baron Juries (in recognition of his devotion to our community); a senior retained fireman and a qualified Devon referee.

These are all posts requiring him to devote his free time to the benefit of our town and our community, for the most part wholly free of charge, or for minimal reward.

Football, as a popular mass recreation, cannot continue if the game is robbed of its match officials by the threat of violence. The injuries that he sustained, I believe are of sufficient gravity that they should earn the perpetrator a custodial sentence, and I sincerely request the Crown Prosecution Service to prosecute this assault to the maximum extent permissible under the law.

So far as the Devon Football Association is concerned, it is within their power to prohibit the mindless thug who carried out the assault from ever participating in a football match, or ever attending a match anywhere for the rest of his life. Anything less would be a travesty and could be seen as tacitly condoning this type of behaviour.

So far as Donald is concerned, I am aware that he is seriously considering giving up his role as a qualified referee.

Whilst I fully support him whatever conclusion he reaches, I would ask that he remember that as soon as we let the mindless violent minority win by being frightened off the pitch, we are left with a cowed society too frightened to stand up to the minority, who have then won. When you have someone who has given all of their free time to the community, it would be an appalling defeat were one mindless idiot able to make him relinquish a life's work.

The same bravery that permits him to function as an effective fire officer needs to dictate his actions now. I would wish to publicly record the fact that has been repeatedly reported to me since last Saturday – the community thanks Donald for what he does, and we condemn the idiot who assaulted him.

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