A special meeting Tuesday evening determined the fate of the North Winnipeg Nomads midget football team.

The team’s board decided to let the teens finish the season.

“At present, I'll be the interim head coach. So, the boys have accountability. We have accountability with them," said Nomads president Jeffery Bannon.

An incident last week where a player pushed a referee to the ground set off a series of suspensions and the removal of the entire coaching staff.

Parents of players on the opposing team, the Greendell Falcons, said the game got out of hand with three players suffering game-ending injuries and their coach even forfeited the game to the Nomads.

"We took a long, hard look at their entire body of work for this year. It just wasn't the one incident. When we realized it wasn't creating the culture that we want for the North Winnipeg Nomads, we decided we need to make a change,” said Bannon.

The league suspended the player involved while Football Manitoba reviews the incident.

Bannon said the board initially went in to Tuesday’s meeting with a decision to cancel the rest of the season. He says the parents, players, and dismissed coaching staff convinced the board to let the teens play.

"The passion and enthusiasm from the North End is phenomenal and it was evident there. So it was something that we wanted to see, something that we needed to see," said Bannon.

Bannon said there was huge support from the football community, and several people stepped up to offer to help coach.