A referee is facing murder charges after football players allegedly forced him to kill a member of the opposing team in southern Malawi, police said Friday.

The referee was overseeing a football match between two local teams , Billiat FC and Chilengo FC, in the town of Thyolo on Wednesday , when Chilengo FC players refused to accept the referee ’ s decision to invalidate a goal, district police spokesman Benjamin Foster told dpa .

In the ensuing scuffle , the referee fled to a nearby house , which the players lit to smoke him out, according to Foster .

When the referee ran out of the burning building, the players forced him to smack a Billiat FC player repeatedly with a stick , the spokesman said .

The player later died of his injuries in hospital, added Foster .

“ The referee turned himself over … He is facing murder charges , ” he said . (dpa /NAN )

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