Details emerge from fracas at youth wrestling tournament in Belvidere

By Express-Times staff

A shoving match that ensued when an angry parent charged a coach at a youth wrestling tournament at Belvidere High School has officials from the Tri-County Youth Wrestling League looking to speak with witnesses as well as the parties involved.

According to police, Robert Spezza, of Liberty Township, allegedly assaulted Dan Shamsudin, a coach with Parsippany PAL, after the Redhawks had defeated Hackettstown 80-0 in a midget wrestling match.

"This guy went crazy, trampled one of our kids and sent him to the hospital," Dan Shamsudin's brother, Sharif Shamsudin, said.

Spezza, 40, reportedly accused coach Shamsudin, 28, of using delay tactics during the match then came out of the bleachers and knocked him to the gymnasium floor.

"I was dazed for a second," Shamsudin said Monday night. "I didn't know where I was for a second. It was almost like a blindside. The guy came from out of nowhere."

League officials are seeking to speak with referees, coaches and others who witnessed the incident.

"We take this extremely seriously and, as I said, we're pretty disturbed and disappointed that it happened," league President Ralph Artigliere said. "And once we've spoken to everyone involved I think it's safe to say there will be some action."

Shamsudin said he was diagnosed with a slight concussion at the hospital after striking his head on the gym floor and that an 11-year-old wrestler was given a soft cast for an arm that was re-injured during the fracas.

The coach denies an allegation that he bit Spezza during the altercation.

Read the entire report from Tom Quigley and Sarah Wojcik: Liberty Township man accused of attacking coach during youth wrestling tournament at Belvidere High Schoo