We definitely don’t condone this but it’s hard not to be impressed by the quick thinking.
There’s been no shortage of football brawls in South America this week, with two incidents on Sunday set to keep Brazil’s sporting court busy.
On the same day that a match between derby rivals Bahia and Vitoria was abandoned after a staggering nine red cards were dished out, Operaio player Jefferson Reis attacked a ball boy for celebrating a goal from opponents Comercial.
Wednesday night saw an Under-20s Copa Libertadores semi-final threaten to spill over into violence, only for some quick thinking from Independiente del Valle youngster Angelo Preciado to allow him to escape an attack.
Whatever the defender said to enrage the entire River Plate U20 team, it resulted in him sprinting away from several players who were intent on getting their hands on Preciado.
#HojaDeRuta – @TatanGaravelli nos cuenta lo sucedido con Ángelo Preciado en la CONMEBOL Libertadores Sub-20🏆⚔️https://t.co/la7OzP387k 📻 pic.twitter.com/KIxjkzoXSi
— Sí 98.9 (@Si989) February 22, 2018
But the Ecuador U20 international rushed to the corner flag, pulled it from the turf and fended off the angry mob by treating it like a spear.
After tempers cooled, one of Preciado’s teammates threw the flag behind an advertising hoarding and Preciado was ushered to safety.
Independiente del Valle moved into the final with a 3-2 aggregate win but we can expect South American Football Federation Conmebol to take disciplinary action against those involved in the unseemly scenes.
