Coach punished over gutless referee attack

A former high school football coach in America has been fined and placed on probation for his part in a callous attack on a referee that shocked the world.

Robert Watts was officiating a match involving Texas' John Jay High School when two players hit him from behind.

The footballers - Victor Rojas and Michael Moreno - claimed Watts had used anti-Hispanic racial slurs and that their coach, Mack Breed, told them to hit the referee.

Breed, who resigned in the aftermath of the September attack, has been sentenced to 18 months probation, fined $1,500 and ordered to serve 120 hours of community service.

Under the terms of his plea, Breed did not admit guilt.

"Mack felt that he made a mistake that evening, and he felt the best thing for him to do was to take responsibility, put it behind him and move forward with his life," Breed's lawyer, James Reeves, said in a statement.