A REFEREE who was attacked by soccer thugs after he abandoned a York match has been awarded £1,000 in compensation.

But Tony Graham today criticised the size of the pay-out from the Criminal Injuries Compensation Board, made almost five years after the assault.

Mr Graham, 41, of Walmgate, who says he has not been able to work since the assault, is appealing for the board to reconsider the sum.

He said the amount was less than the case had cost him in legal fees. "It actually leaves me out of pocket. And I don't understand why it has all taken so long."

The nightmare began during a Sunday afternoon league game in 1994 when, with the pitch heavily waterlogged and one player suffering a broken ankle after falling in the mud, Mr Graham called off the match.

He said he received verbal abuse on the pitch from players on the side which was winning at the time and claims he was twice beaten up by players afterwards.

On one occasion, thugs used a baseball bat, and he suffered injuries to his nose and an eye, and his left shoulder was severely dislocated.

He said the attack had left him blind in one eye, and he had undergone several operations to his shoulder, leaving him permanently crippled in his left arm. "I can't raise it up properly. I have given all these years to refereeing and then this happens."

He said the sum had been agreed by the board only for the injuries to his nose and eye, because of difficulties in proving the shoulder damage was caused in the assault.

Mr Graham says the risk of assault for referees has increased in recent years, citing the Premiership game earlier this season in which referee Paul Alcock was pushed to the ground.

No-one was available for omment at the CICB, but a spokesman has said previously that, while it could not comment on individual cases, it was trying to address delays in hearing cases.

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