UCSB Soccer Player Charged with Battery For Shoving Referee
SANTA BARBARA – The Santa Barbara County District Attorney’s office filed misdemeanor charges Wednesday morning against former UCSB soccer player Peter Fergus McGlynn for shoving a referee after Sunday’s overtime loss to U.C. Davis.Senior Deputy District Attorney Lee Carter filed one count of Battery Against A Sports Official.23-year-old McGlynn was arrested by university police officers on the field and led away in handcuffs. He’s been dismissed from the Gauchos for his actions against referee Reed Christy. Head Coach Tim Vom Steeg who was arguing with Christy when McGlynn shoved the ref from behind, has been suspended for one game and the program will forego any postseason opportunity it may have had although those chances were slim.The ugly incident is an exclamation point on a season collapse. The Gauchos started off the season undefeated in their first 11 games and ranked #3 in the nation in some polls. However, after a string of losses including the home loss to U.C. Davis on Sunday the Gauchos fell off the charts and is no longer ranked.McGlynn, who was a fifth-year senior defender on the team, apologized for his actions on his Twitter page saying ” I would just like to take this opportunity to express how deeply I regret the incident I was involved in on Sunday. My actions were completely my own and now I will accept the full consequences of the matter. Not only did I let myself and my family down, but also my team, the coaching staff, the athletic department, UCSB, the alumni, and everybody from the Santa Barbara community, and I would want to say to all involved of how very sorry I am. I am very sad to leave a program of the highest integrity behind with a tarnished reputation because of my selfish and immature actions. I am completely embarrassed to end such a fantastic chapter in my life in such shame. I would like to wish the best to the program in continued success and dominance, as the amazing support from the students and the community truly deserve. I want to also express my gratitude to everybody for their kind messages of love and support, and will never forget how you all helped me through this ordeal. Go Gauchos.”UCSB Athletic Director Mark Massari released the following statement to KEY News on Monday, “I hold everyone in our program responsible for representing the University in a positive manner at all times, top-to-bottom.”McGlynn will be arraigned on November 14th. UCSB plays at Sacramento State on Wednesday afternoon.Watch KEY News tonight for the latest on this developing story.
