This is disgraceful.
An amateur football game in Portugal was interrupted by police, who had to intervene after a player attacked a referee in brutal fashion.
Marco Goncalves of Portuguese fourth-tier side Canelas 2010 had just been shown a red card for reportedly punching a player from opponents Rio Tinto when he lost his cool.
The below footage from the game shows Goncalves grab the official, Jose Rodrigues, in a clinch before crunching a knee into his face, forcing the referee to fall backwards.
https://twitter.com/oliveiramateus_/status/848866411908931584
Police officials rushed the pitch and, according to a report in the Sun, arrested the forward.
“Marco Goncalves will never wear the Canelas FC 2010 shirt again,” club president Bruno Canastro said of the incident.
“We want to show our full support for referee Jose Rodrigues and his family and wish him a speedy recovery.”
The club in question, Canelas, has a notorious reputation for on-field violence and there are reportedly several members of Porto’s Ultra’s Group in the team’s ranks.
A number of reports emerged late last year documenting how afraid their rivals were of potential attacks on the pitch as several teams outright refused to play them, preferring instead to forfeit the game and pay a £650 fine.
But this latest instance could see the team suspended from the league altogether and, given the egregious nature of the attack, it wouldn’t come as a surprise to see that happen.
