The referee, a man in his 50s, was assaulted and beaten during a match in the youth tournament Norway Cup in Oslo this summer.
A Spanish man in his 20s, who was a spectator, admitted to hitting the referee. He claimed, however, that it happened in self-defense and that he did it to defend his brother who had been pushed by the referee.
The 20-year-old is now acquitted by Oslo district court.
"He was acquitted of everything", writes the man's lawyer Ola Lunde in a text message to NRK.
