The Edinburg High School football player who was arrested after knocking a referee to the ground will be suspended for the rest of the academic school year, the UIL State Executive Committee voted on Monday. Emmanuel Duron sprinted to the referee after he was ejected during a game against Pharr-San Juan-Alamo High School on Dec. 3. Although Edinburg High School won, the school forfeited its playoff spot due to the hit. The committee publicly reprimanded Edinburg High School Football Coach J.J. Leija and the Edinburg High School Athletic Department. In 2015, two John Jay High School football players hit a referee in the middle of a play.

The Edinburg High School senior defensive linemen who knocked a referee to the ground for ejecting him from the game was booked into jail Friday, Hidalgo County records show. Duron was tossed from the game Thursday night during the matchup between the Edinburg High School Bobcats and the Pharr-San Juan-Alamo Bears. Unfortunately this type of blind-sided assault on an official while working on the field is not new to Texas Football,” the statement read. In 2015, two John Jay High School football players hit a referee in the middle of a play. READ MORE FROM KSAT.COM:Edinburg High School pulls out of football playoffs after player attacked refereeSouth Texas high school football player attacks referee after being ejected from game

District officials said even if they had decided not to remove the football team from the playoffs, the University Interscholastic League would have still taken the same course of action. The UIL has made it clear to Interim Superintendent Gilbert Garza Jr. that UIL would have removed the football team from the playoffs if the district did not withdraw the team. In connection with the incident, the UIL released the following statement: The UIL strongly condemns the unsportsmanlike behavior displayed in the Edinburg vs. PSJA high school football game on December 3, 2020. In 2015, two John Jay High School football players hit a referee in the middle of a play. READ MORE FROM KSAT.COM:South Texas high school football player booked in jail after blindsiding refereeSouth Texas high school football player attacks referee after being ejected from game