Amateur boxer who allegedly attacked referee in Sydney denied bail

The man accused of assaulting a soccer referee in Sydney's south-west will remain behind bars after having his bail refused.

Amateur boxer Adam Abdullah allegedly attacked Khodr Yaghi after the Greenacre Eagles lost to the Padstow Hornets at Padstow Oval in on Friday night.

Abdullah, who allegedly rushed onto the field, was arrested after turning up to Bankstown police station with his lawyer and was charged with wounding with intent to cause grievous bodily harm and affray.

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The 25-year-old's pregnant wife, parents, siblings and neighbour filled the courtroom today as a $250,000 surety was offered to secure his release.

After viewing the video of the incident, Magistrate Glenn Walsh said Abdallah was an "unacceptable risk of committing a further offence".

"The nature of what happened displays an inability to maintain control," Walsh said.

Abdullah's barrister argued that he was acting in self defence after he was hit with Yaghi's sideline pole and asked to "move away".

The magistrate said that there was a significant enough amount of time before Abdullah then grabbed Yaghi to raise questions over self defence.

The referee underwent surgery today to repair his jaw, broken in three places, and is now in recovery.

His wife said her husband would never stop doing what he loves.

Footage from the aftermath of the match appeared to show the referee being punched three times, then kicked in the head.

"He's going to do a job, he's a family man, he has four boys," wife Fay Yaghi told 9News.

She told 2GB's Ben Fordham that soccer was "in his blood".

"Soccer should be a place where everyone feels safe and we all connect, you know, like it's a religion," she said.

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"Why should anyone be harmed, whether it's my husband or anybody else? Why?"

She said their four sons had not yet visited their dad in hospital as he didn't want them to see him in his current state.

"As soon as I saw him, I started crying, broke up into tears," Fay said.

The family was due to fly out to Bali and Singapore for a holiday on Sunday, which has now been postponed.

Amateur boxer Adam Abdullah, who allegedly rushed onto the field, was arrested after turning up to Bankstown police station with his lawyer.

He was charged on Sunday night with wounding with intent to cause grievous bodily harm, and affray.

Six weeks ago, he was suspended after being involved in a brawl during a home ground match.

Police were called to the incident.

NSW Premier Chris Minns said the allegations were "very troubling" and "completely unacceptable".

"Treat referees with some respect. They do a difficult job," Minns said.

"Thank God they do it, we would not be able to run any weekend competitions without them."

The Greenacre Eagle Football Club said in a statement "all forms of violence have no place in our game".

"Our club has made the decision to withdraw the team from the competition for the remainder of the 2023 season," the club said.

Fay Yaghi called for "justice" for her husband.

"It hurts me more because he is from my community," the referee said.

"He is from my religion, and he is Lebanese like me."

Abdullah was refused bail to appear at Bankstown Local Court today.

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