Assistant referee for FA Cup and football league games charged with child sexual offence
18 February 2025, 11:26
An assistant referee in the English Football League (EFL) has been charged with a sexual offence allegedly involving a teenage girl.
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Gareth Viccars faces one charge of penetrative sexual activity with a girl aged between 13 and 15.
The 46-year-old is due to appear in Snaresbrook Crown Court on March 3, according to Sky Sports News.
The assistant ref is being remanded in custody following a hearing at Willesden Magistrates Court last week.
He has reportedly not officiated any matches this season.
Mr Viccars was 'immediately suspended' as soon as the allegations came to light, a spokesperson from the Professional Game Match Officials Ltd.
"As the matter is the subject of an ongoing police investigation, we are not in a position to comment any further," the referee body spokesperson added.
Viccars has refereed games in the Football League, FA Cup and League Cup since 2018.
His profile on worldfootball.net states his most recent game was AFC Wimbledon’s League Two match against Grimsby Town on March 5, 2024.
The assistant ref has also worked as an office manager for an estate agent and previously set up an IT company.
In November, Premier League referee David Coote was suspended after he was apparently filmed calling former Liverpool manager Jurgen Clop an "absolute c***" when he was refereeing a match involving his side.
He said that Klopp, who left Liverpool in the summer after nearly a decade at Anfield, "had a right f****** pop" at him after the game.Coote, 42, also took aim at Liverpool itself, calling the club "s***".
The video spread on social media, but not before another clip emerged appearing to show Coote sniffing a white powder through a rolled up US bank note during the 2024 European Championships.
Coote was later sacked in December after an investigation into his conduct.
In an interview with The Sun, he admitted that he sometimes used cocaine to cope with the stress of his high-profile job, but insisted that he was not reliant on the drug "day by day, week by week, month by month".
