Kicking is a key part of playing soccer, but it should never be done in an act of violence against an opponent.
That’s why after a wild on-field incident during a high school soccer match in South Dakota went viral, many fans are calling for one of the players involved to not only be banned from competing, but also face criminal charges for assault.
What happened during the match?
During Friday evening’s matchup between Rapid City Central and Brookings, what appeared to be a routine play with roughly four minutes to go in the first half devolved into chaos.
As Brookings’ Kyle Soost attempted to get around Rapid City Central’s Jaxson Bergman, the defender instead proceeded to push the winger, sending him flying off the pitch and to the ground out of bounds.
After the whistle blew to call the obvious foul, Bergman approached Soost, kicked him hard in the back and then landed several punches to his opponent’s head.
The referee, a coach and the Rapid City Central goalkeeper quickly intervened to separate the two players.
One of Soost’s teammates, Caylon Peters, then came running in and threw some punches at Bergman before the scuffle was broken up.
The match was suspended for 10 minutes after the altercation, according to Matt Kerney, a South Dakota-based reporter who posted a clip of the incident on social media.
As of Monday morning, it has been viewed more than 17.4 million times on X.
Should Bergman be banned and/or charged?
The clip garnered much outrage, with many users calling for Bergman to be banned from the sport.
“That kid in the white jersey should not ever play at his school again,” one follower posted on social media.
“Hope buddy never gets to step on a soccer field again,” another fan added.
Many others were hoping for far greater consequences to come Bergman’s way.
“Banned for life and get the police involved,” one user commented. “This kid needs time in a box to think about his life.”
“That’s gotta be criminal charges. There is absolutely no place in that for sports or society in general,” another posted.
“This child should be charged with assault and also banned from the sport … the team should have been forced to forfeit the game. What the heck how is this not receiving more traction?” a third user wrote.
The Rapid City Area School (RCAS) board has yet to officially comment on the incident and no charges had been publicly announced as of Monday morning.