A youth player in Italy will face 'serious disciplinary action' for grabbing the referee after being shown a red card. The Sassuolo U20 star was sent off during a match against Napoli, and began walking off the pitch, but turned around to confront the referee one last time.

That's when tempers flared, as Troy Tomsa, the player in question, started to lay his hands on the official. It appears as if Tomsa shoves the referee twice, which sparked a reaction from his team-mates and the opposition players.

But Tomsa's fit of rage didn't end there, as when he'd eventually left the field of play, the Sassuolo player also laid one on a member of his coaching team. The coach had come over to diffuse the situation, but Tomsa had none of it, and he also aggressively pushed him away.

In an official statement, Sassuolo distanced themselves from the actions of the Romanian, saying: "We firmly condemn Tomsa's behaviour toward referee Maresca. The club believes that incidents of this nature are unacceptable and completely at odds with the values of respect and fairness that are the fundamental principles of sport and that Sassuolo Calcio constantly promotes.

"The club has already initiated the appropriate internal evaluations and will take serious disciplinary action against the player. Sassuolo also reiterates its commitment to promoting, through sporting activities and the club's numerous educational projects, the educational values that must accompany the growth of male and female athletes."

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Understandably, the saga has drawn plenty of attention on social media, with football fans gobsmacked at the actions of the youngster. Writing on Reddit, GonePostalRoute said: "Wouldn't surprise me if he's straight up cut. Unless he's some wonder kid with great potential, there's no team that's gonna accept a kid in the u20 (or similar) setup with a temperament like that."

Narcoed added: "Should be a ban for life from that league."

With 2000-untitled saying: "It's like a trainwreck watching that moment he works himself up and turns back around to fight the ref."