3 days ago
Watch: Football referee punches U-17 player in Brazil, brutal brawl breaks out in Sao Paolo
Visuals from a brutal fight between a linesman and players from a Sao Paolo game (Image via X/@Teradeportes)
In a gnarly incident, shocking visuals of a referee coming to blows with players of Sao Paolo Social's under-17 players has gone viral on social media. The clip posted on X shows at least 12 people in a violent fist fight, which broke out when the assistant referee took a sudden swing at a player that expressed dissent towards him.
The clip shows the referee take a wild swing with his right hand, clipping the face of a Sao Paolo player. The player, who got punched on his face, is seen reeling backwards on impact, before he was promptly surrounded by his teammates. What followed was total chaos on the sidelines, after a player was seen jumping in studs-first at the referee.
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However, the official managed to parry the blow with his hands. Tensions flowed over, as players from the Sao Paolo squad swarmed the linesman.
Poll
What do you think about the referees being penalized for the incident?
Completely justified
Unfair. The players also played a huge role
Severely outnumbered, the official was then muscled to the ground, with other referees unable to intervene and put an end to the tussle. Overall, it took over 30 seconds for tensions to cool down and to separate the referee and players.
In light of the incident, a police complaint was filed against the match official by the parents of the players. The unsportsmanlike incident resulted in the line referee being excluded from the Interclub tournament. Other match officials who were also in charge of the game were sanctioned in light of the regrettable incident.
