A local league footballer has avoided a prison sentence after fracturing an opponent’s jaw.

Striker Karl Kollar, who plays for Newsome FC, punched Diggle FC defender Glyn Partington during a match.

The attack took place at Farnley Tyas Recreation Ground on October 17 last year.

Prosecutor Heather Gilmore told Leeds Crown Court on Monday that halfway through the game the score was 1-1 when the pair started “tussling.”

She said that Mr Partington swore at him after Kollar tackled one of the Diggle players.

The 33-year-old defendant spat and said: “What are you going to do about it?” Mr Partington replied: “Bring it on.”

Kollar, who has eight previous convictions for 20 offences, approached him from behind and punched him in the jaw.

Mr Partington started bleeding from the mouth and Kollar had to be held back.

The referee said he heard the cracking sound and gave a red card, but Kollar had already started to walk off the pitch.

After the match, the Diggle FC player went to hospital in Oldham and later Manchester where he discovered his jaw was fractured in three places. He had an operation to have screws inserted in his jaw.

West Riding County FA also dished out a three-match suspension.

Barrister Rachel Smith, defending, told the court that Kollar said his victim had kicked him before the match and elbowed him during the match.

In a victim impact statement read to the court, Mr Partington said he had been playing football for 20 years but had never suffered anything like this before. He was worried younger players might be put off playing because of what they had witnessed.

Kollar, of Blackmoorfoot Road in Huddersfield , pleaded guilty to one count of causing grievous bodily harm at a plea and trial preparation hearing on December 18.

Recorder Margia Mostafa sentenced him to 12 months’ imprisonment, suspended for 18 months.

She said: “The reality is that you knew you were under an obligation to behave in a proper manner and not to use violence on the pitch.

“You might have had a red card that day, but you have also acquired a criminal conviction.”

Kollar was also ordered to complete 150 hours of unpaid work and pay £250 compensation to the victim.