Youth assaulted, taken to hospital following Moncton soccer game: N.B. RCMP

Police in Moncton, N.B., are investigating an assault after a youth soccer game last weekend.

Staff Sgt. Dave MacDonnell of the Codiac Regional RCMP said members were called to the Moncton SportsDome on Jan. 29 around 4:15 p.m.

"It's still under investigation. We're speaking with many witnesses," said MacDonnell.

Soccer Dieppe president Taha Maarous confirmed to CTV News the assault involved multiple youths and took place after a game with a club from Saint John, N.B.

He said the victim is under the age of 15 and was taken to hospital. He wouldn't release any further details.

Soccer Dieppe released a statement Thursday night about the incident that occurred during an indoor soccer game.

The statement noted the Dieppe Soccer Club wishes to reaffirm its commitment to promoting a safe environment for everyone involved in the sport.

"We would like to clarify that the club maintains a zero-tolerance policy towards any form of racism and bullying," read the statement. "We strongly condemn the unfortunate incidents of physical and verbal violence that took place on that day."

As a result of the incident, the Dieppe Soccer Club has decided to temporarily pull its teams from indoor league play and from the New Brunswick Soccer League, pending the results of the investigation by the RCMP.

The decision to do so was to protect the "physical and psychological well-being of its members," according to the statement.

CTV News reached out to the Saint John Soccer Club (SJSC). It would not comment on the matter, directly citing the police and Soccer New Brunswick investigations.

"The SJSC has no comment and will have no comment until the police and governing body have had a chance to do their investigation," said Cuilean Hendra, the vice-president of the Saint John Soccer Club.

Younes Bouida, the executive director of Soccer New Brunswick, said the assault happened outside the dome. He says an independent discipline committee is looking into the incident.

"It doesn't happen a lot in soccer compared to other sports. That's why we are a little bit shocked about what happened," he said. "Basically for us, it's zero tolerance. We don't want such things to happen in the beautiful sport of soccer."

Bouida wasn't at the game, but says he has received reports.

"It was a competitive game between two teams but nothing more than a normal competitive game. I think most of the things happened after the game,” said Bouida.