Violent soccer game sends 3 girls to the hospital

A girl’s high school soccer game took a violent turn when one girl was hit in the face. The game between Estero and Fort Myers high schools sent three players to the hospital. It even left one of the athletes with a bloody gash.

Parents said the district championship between Fort Myers and Estero girl’s high school soccer teams quickly turned into a bloodbath, and now both schools are placing the blame on the officials for not keeping it clean.

“That doesn’t look like sports,” Denise Walter said. “No, that looks like a little something more was going on.”

Parents said the girls had to keep playing, as they watched teammate after teammate go down.

“That’s getting too rough,” Tammie Hillman said. “The coaches should’ve stopped it at that point.”

According to the Lee County school district, both schools are holding the referee’s accountable.

The district says in a statement that the coaches and administrators for both schools “repeatedly reminded the girls to play within the rules and advised the referees they needed to control the game.”

Both schools have since written the Florida High School Athletic Association to raise their concerns about the officiating.

WINK News reached out to the FHSAA referee organization but haven’t heard back.