Hockey mom charged after scuffle with teen ref at RMU sports complex

Nobody dropped the gloves, but a confrontation earlier this month between a hockey mom and a teenage referee at a Neville Island ice rink has led to a court date.

Andrea Bucci, 38, of Franklin Park is facing assault charges and was banned from the Robert Morris University Island Sports Complex for what police described as an altercation with a 16-year-old referee who ejected her son from a youth hockey game for unsportsmanlike conduct.

An attorney for Bucci, however, maintains the referee touched his client first during a three-on-three club game.

“There are several witnesses and video that show my client did come down from the stands,” attorney Phil DiLucente told TribLive on July 30. “But the referee was the one to lay hands first on my client before she did anything.”

A 25-second video clip provided by DiLucente for review by TribLive appears to bear that out.

The July 20 footage shows a woman, identified by DiLucente as his client, hustling down a short set of stairs to the rink door as the uniformed referee leads a player wearing blue and yellow off the ice.

Bucci steps into the doorway and begins pointing and speaking to the official. As he tries to close the rink door, she gets in the way, gesticulating, and prevents it from being shut.

The referee pushes her back with one hand, but Bucci stands her ground, grabbing the door with one hand and the dasher boards with the other.

Bucci kicks her right leg out, pushes against the referee’s shoulder with one hand and, with the other, makes contact with his neck area.

The referee says something and points as Bucci turns and walks away and up the stairs. She throws up her hands and shakes her head, then turns around and descends the stairs again as the two argue. Finally, the referee closes the door as a second referee watches from the ice.

What the two said to each other during the confrontation could not be determined from the video.

Police from Robert Morris University and Ohio Township were dispatched to the sports complex around 4:20 p.m.

The incident occurred after Bucci’s son, whom authorities did not name, was accused of blindsiding a player from the opposing team, according to a criminal complaint.

The boy, a juvenile whose age was not listed in the complaint, stayed back during the altercation but appeared to motion with his hand to his mother to move away.

Police said Bucci and her husband, Michael, also “attempted to intimidate (the referee) by using profanity and lunging at him,” according to the complaint.

Police charged Bucci on misdemeanor counts of simple assault and assault on a sports official. Charges, which police filed Monday, also include summary counts of harassment and disorderly conduct.

Michael Bucci was not charged.

DiLucente stressed police didn’t interview Bucci or get her version of the confrontation before filing charges.

“The aggressor, according to the video, is not my client,” DiLucente said.

Bucci did not respond to a phone call seeking comment July 30. Robert Morris University’s police force, which filed the criminal charges, also did not return a phone call July 30.

A university official released a prepared statement but declined to answer any questions.

“The safety and well-being of all participants and fans at the RMU Island Sports Center is our No. 1 priority,” according to the statement from the university. “Robert Morris police handled this unfortunate incident, and the university does not comment on police matters.”

A desk manager at the sports complex barred Bucci from returning and told police “that she has had multiple problems in the past with Ms. Bucci,” according to the complaint.

The manager added Bucci “was confrontational with her after this incident,” the complaint said.

DiLucente also challenged that point. 

“During none of the previous hockey games was my client placed on notice in any way about (her) behavior,” he said.

The referee’s mother arrived on the scene after the incident and requested charges be filed, the complaint said.

Bucci’s preliminary hearing is scheduled for Sept. 2, court records show.