Football referees in the city have decided not to officiate any match involving the Mumbai City FC (MCFC) reserve team in the Mumbai District Football Association (MDFA) Elite Division to show their solidarity for assistant referee, Umesh Patel, 26, who was manhandled by MCFC players on Wednesday.

The incident occurred during a Wednesday's MDFA Elite Division match between MCFC and Karnatak SA at the Neville D'Souza ground, Bandra, which the latter won 1-0. After the match, some MCFC players and officials got into a scuffle with the referee, who immediately reported the matter to the police.