The fight between players on the Prairie Seeds Academy and Totino-Grace boys soccer teams is now a police investigation, with the Minnesota State High School League also expected to weigh in on the matter.
Maple Grove police say they have a copy of the video shot by the 12 Sports crew, but now it's just a matter of trying to identify everyone involved and get their side of the story.
"There's a lot that happened, I'm guessing, during the course of that soccer game," said Maple Grove Police Capt. Keith Terlinden. "We just have a small snapshot in time, and we're looking to see what happened before that as well as during the actual video."
The incident took place in the final moments of the match last Thursday that would determine which team would go to the state soccer tournament. Prairie Seeds beat Totino-Grace 2-1.
Maple Grove police say any potential charges would depend on the extent of the injuries, and whether the people involved were adults or juveniles.
"After we conclude our investigation, if warranted, we'll forward our information to the city our county attorney's office depending on what charges are being sought," Terlinden said.
Prairie Seeds head coach and Athletic Director Youssef Darbaki did not respond to requests to go on camera Monday, but he told the Star Tribune that some of the opposing players were making derogatory comments during the game, which could partly explain the cause of the fight. Totino-Grace Athletic Director Mike Smith said the school was still investigating what happened.
Officials from the Minnesota State High School League said they're still gathering information and the earliest they could make a statement would be Tuesday, Oct. 23.
Delane Cleveland, reporting
dcleveland@twelve.tv
Monday, October 22, 2012