The title is not a typo. Enraged soccer fans in Brazil stoned a referee to death and then cut off his limbs after the ref stabbed a player who tried to fight him.
Taking place in Maranhao, the Department of Public Safety described the events in a statement. They said that referee Otavio da Silva ejected player Josenir Abreu following a foul.
Abreu became angry at the call and proceeded to attack Silva. The two men began fighting, and eventually Silva pulled out a knife and stabbed Abreu.
After being rushed to the hospital as a result of the stabbing, Abreau died from his injuries.
The statement from the Department of Public Safety also stated that enraged spectators, including family and friends of Abreu “rushed into the field, stoned the referee to death and quartered his body,” according to Sports Illustrated.
Not stopping at killing the referee, those enraged at the stabbing of Abreu then beheaded Silva and placed his head on a pike in the center of the field, as reported by local media in Sao Paulo.
A grotesque scene at the site of the World Cup next year. This has to make the referees who will be at the world’s largest sporting event a little nervous with the World Cups start right around the corner.
One man has been arrested in the incident.
If this doesn’t prove soccer fans are the world’s craziest fans, I don’t know what it would take to do so.
Follow me on Twitter @CharlieGille
Senior Sports Editor
The Guardian Express
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