Diego de Souza was living a lonely existence in the dressing room after he was sent off during a soccer game, but many other would soon share his shameful fate.
The Wanderers’ midfielder received one of 17 red cards dished out by referee Leodan Gonzalez after a brawl broke out at the end an Uruguayan soccer game, according to Reuters.
Sunday’s contest between Wanderers and Juventud ended in a chaos, as players from both teams punched and kicked each other after the final whistle. Gonzalez gave red cards to eight players on each team, punishing both sides with equal measure.
Things started to go sour after Wanderers thought they should have been awarded a penalty for a foul on midfielder Gaston Rodríguez near the end of the game. Rather than plead their case with the referee, Wanderers’ players took their anger out on Juventud’s.
The game, which ended 3-3, should have been memorable for what happened during the 90 minutes of play, but it was the postgame fracas that made headlines.
Wanderers vice-president Gaston Inda apologized for the outbreak of violence.
“Something got out of hand because during the match nothing had happened but these are situations we can’t allow and we’re sorry for what happened,” he said.
Juventud president Yamandu Costa lamented the miserable ending to a spectacular game. He said his club would consider punishing players that were involved in the brawl.
“Two very different things happened,” he said. “One is how the match developed which, from a sporting point of view, was very good with three goals for each side, and another, after the match was over, when an argument among players finished in a general free-for-all.”
We live in a strange world when de Souza can hold his head high for being the recipient of the game’s least ridiculous red card.
Watch the melee that got all those players sent off in the video below.
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Thumbnail photo via Flickr/Diegobattiste
