BOSTON (Reuters) - An umpire who ordered a Little League baseball team to stop speaking Spanish during a game this week was barred from officiating any more games this year, league officials said on Friday.
The incident occurred when a bilingual assistant coach shouted out instructions in Spanish to the team's 14-year-old pitcher and catcher, who are immigrants from the Dominican Republic and speak little English, the Eagle-Tribune newspaper reported.
The umpire, whose name has been withheld, then ordered the team to speak only English.
The coach of a Methuen, Massachusetts-based Little League squad said the umpire's ruling banning the use of Spanish on the field demoralized his team and ultimately contributed to its loss in a state tournament game, according to the newspaper report.
Lance Van Auken, a spokesman for Little League International, said in a statement, "The umpire made an incorrect decision, for which there was no basis in the Rules and Regulations of Little League."
As a result, Little League officials will not allow that umpire to work any more games for the remainder of the year.
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