Troy Deeney ‘threatened to punch a match official’ and ‘labelled them a ******* weasel’ prior to being hit with FA ban during 29-day Forest Green reign that ended with former Watford star being sacked

Troy Deeney was previously handed a four-game ban and fined £1,500 during his short-stint as Forest Green Rovers manager for threatening to punch a match official and calling them a ‘weasel‘, according to reports.

Deeney’s tenure as Forest Green manager lasted just 29 days before club owner Dale Vince sacked the former Premier League star for publicly criticising first-team players.

One of his only six games in charge saw Deeney suffer a 2-1 defeat in a League Two derby against Swindon Town at the County Ground, with the 35-year-old involved in furious disputes and subsequently charged by the FA afterwards.

The charges relating to alleged improper, abusive, insulting and threatening language and behaviour were proved and it has since been revealed Deeney threatened to punch a match official and labelled fourth official Andrew Hickman as a ‘weasel’, as reported by Sky Sports.

Deeney was hit with a £1,500 fine and four-match ban after reportedly fuming: ‘If you weren’t a referee, I would punch your ******* head in,’ and also described the official as a ‘******* weasel.’

The 35-year-old was sacked as Forest Green manager after just 29 days at the club’s helm

An FA statement following the incident that saw Deeney sent off by referee Scott Simpson read: ‘Forest Green Rovers manager Troy Deeney has been banned from the touchline for four matches and fined £1,500 following the EFL League Two fixture against Swindon Town on Friday 29 December 2023.

‘It was alleged that during the 85th minute of the fixture, his behaviour and language leading to his dismissal was improper and/or abusive and/or insulting and/or threatening. It was further alleged that following his dismissal, his language towards a match official was improper and/or abusive and/or insulting.

‘The charges were found proven and the sanctions were imposed by an independent Regulatory Commission.’ 

Deeney was unable to fulfil the full extent of his ban after being sacked by Forest Green after less than a month in his debut managerial role.

The former Watford striker contested whether his behaviour counted as threatening and if he had sworn, but did take responsibility for his actions.

The former Watford star was hit with an FA ban after a 2-1 defeat against Swindon Town

Deeney failed to win any of his six games in charge of Forest Green and was criticised by club chief, Vince for making a ‘big mistake’ by publicly criticising players. 

Speaking to Mail Sport, Vince said: ‘It was a whole package of issues – it says to me that this is something that’s probably not going to work. 

‘The public criticism of our players last Saturday was a bad thing. I said to you (on Thursday) it was a big mistake and that was a factor. He got sent off recently against Swindon and he got a four-game ban for abusive language against officials – that’s another contributing factor. 

‘You put all those things together and it just said to me that we had to make a decision sooner rather than later – not wait to see if we got better results. I said, “do you know what, we have to do this now”.’