Orlando soccer fight could lead to charges

2 Florida teams involved in fight during game

ORLANDO, Fla. – The state attorney's office is considering whether to file charges against a soccer player who was allegedly involved in a fight at the Disney Cup International Youth Soccer Tournament this weekend near Orlando.

Matthew Feinberg, the parent of one of the injured Orlando players, said the fight happened at the end of a game between Orlando FC/QPR Academy and Pachuca FC Miami on Saturday afternoon. He said several small fights broke out at around the same time on the field, involving members of both teams and their parents.

"The parents are just thugs," said Feinberg. "It's one thing to excuse a child's behavior, but when the parents rush out on the field and join in their child's behavior, it's despicable."

His son, Jordan, suffered a concussion from the fight and bruising all over his body.

"It's disappointing," said Feinberg. "We won the tournament, six days worth of games, and we couldn't celebrate. We spent the afternoon in the emergency room with my son having a concussion."

The coach of the Orlando team was expected to be on a conference call sometime Monday with the parent organization of his team, which is based in England.

Meantime, a representative for the Miami team involved in the fights is telling a local newspaper that his players are being blamed because of their race.

Monica Mularski, who is a volunteer for the Pachuca FC Miami team, tells the Miami New Times that one of the team members of the Orlando team threw the first punch, and she resents her team being billed as "Miami thugs."

At the same time, she asked all parents accept responsibility for what happened.

"We are not going to say that our kids aren't at fault," Mularski said to Miami New Times. "All parents and kids on that field assaulting one another should be held accountable. We will hold our kids and parents responsible. We are already putting kids on probation."


About the Author:

Erik Sandoval joined the News 6 team as a reporter in May 2013 and became an Investigator in 2020. During his time at News 6, Erik has covered several major stories, including the 2016 Presidential campaign. He was also one of the first reporters live on the air at the Pulse Nightclub shooting.

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