THE referee in a Bradford six-a-side tournament got into a fight with a goalkeeper who accused him of bias towards the winning team, a court heard.

Kyle Whitaker fractured Michael March-Cousins' cheekbone and left him with what looked like a bite mark in the attack at Buttershaw Business Enterprise College on August 20, 2013.

Whitaker, 28, of Poplarwood Gardens, Ravenscliffe, Bradford, pleaded guilty to assaulting Mr March-Cousins and causing him actual bodily harm.

The pair agreed to sort out a disagreement between them off the pitch after Mr March-Cousins' side lost their match in the knock-out tournament, Bradford Crown Court was told yesterday.

Sentencing Whitaker, a father-of-three, to a 12 month community order with 80 hours of unpaid work, the Recorder of Bradford, Judge Roger Thomas QC, said there was "bad blood" between them before the match started.

Whitaker was suspected of making a disparaging remark about Mr March-Cousins and some of his team-mates.

When they lost the game, unhappiness spread to Whitaker's role as referee.

When the men agreed to sort out their differences, it escalated into violence and Mr March-Cousins came off worse.