Real Monarchs Coach Suspended After Domestic Violence Charges

SALT LAKE CITY (AP) - The coach of a minor league soccer team in Utah is facing multiple charges of domestic assault and attempting to tamper with a witness.

Prosecutors in Draper filed four misdemeanor charges against 36-year-old Mark Briggs last Wednesday. Briggs coaches the Real Monarchs, a Herriman-based team that plays in the United Soccer League and is affiliated with Real Salt Lake of Major League Soccer.

The team said in a press release Tuesday that Briggs's suspension from coaching duties will be immediate and he will be placed on administrative leave until further notice. The team plays in the United Soccer League and is affiliated with Real Salt Lake of Major League Soccer.

Assistant coach and former Real Salt Lake defender Jamison Olave will serve as interim head coach. He begins his tenure with a Tuesday evening match against Sacramento Republic FC.

Briggs' attorney Greg Skordas says that there was no merit to the claims and that the case should not have been filed.

Real Salt Lake spokesman Trey Fitz-Gerald said the team would issue a statement Tuesday afternoon.

English native Briggs has been head coach of the Real Monarchs since 2017.

Copyright 2018 The Associated Press.