Missouri State High School Activities Association Suspends Football Referee After Initiating Altercation With Player

The Missouri State High School Activities Association handed down an indefinite suspension to a football referee on Friday after video showed him physically accosting a player following a touchdown celebration.

The incident occurred during Thursday night’s contest between Glendale and Kickapoo, which saw the former walk away with a 35-6 victory.

Video of the incident, which was captured by photographer ShotzByLogan, shows Glendale senior Joelle Rover scoring on a long touchdown run. After the run, Rover can be seen celebrating, but he doesn’t appear to do anything particularly inappropriate.

I’ve received a statement from a MSHSAA member after this incident (video below) during Thursday night’s matchup between Glendale and Kickapoo.

“We were made aware of the situation, and the official in question has been suspended indefinitely.”

🎥: @ShotzByLogan https://t.co/UNRQARJE9Z

— Danielle King (@DanielleRKing_) October 9, 2026

After the celebration, the referee runs up to Rover and grabs him by both the jersey and the chest plate and appears to yell something at him.

Understandably, the confused high school player puts his hands out to the side and shakes his head in confusion.

Glendale head coach Frank Tristan then comes running into the frame and apparently yells in the direction of another referee.

“He doesn’t need to be touching my player,” Tristan says. “You talk to me. That’s ridiculous. He needs to grow up.”

On Friday, the MSHSAA released a statement to the Ozarks Sports Zone.

“We were made aware of the situation, and the official in question has been suspended indefinitely,” the statement read.

Fans seemed to agree with the decision.

“This ref needs to be banned from high school games. The kid did nothing wrong,” one wrote.

“Given what happened in the NFL just last week, you would think officials would be extra careful about how they interact with players,” wrote another. “Most will. This guy…must have missed the memo.”

Safe to say that in hindsight, the referee may well regret his decision making on this one.