Raging football hooligans beat a referee within an inch of his life after he red-carded several players during a match in Argentina.
The mob was held back by police as they hurled insults from the stands before they broke free and poured onto the pitch.
Father-of-three Claudio Elichiri fled after being punched in the face and chased by the hooligans as a handful of officers did what little they could to protect him.
Today the local league president claimed it was a “miracle” he was alive as the injured ref showed off his wounds, including a nasty cut under his eye that required four stitches.UK Mirror reports
The Argentinian official said he couldn’t lift his lips from the beating he had received as footage emerged of the moment he was attacked and forced to run for safety.
The violence erupted during a fourth-division match between Sarmiento and Sansinena, who come from different cities in the province of Buenos Aires.
Players from home side Sarmiento surrounded the ref after he failed to award them a penalty and their rivals scored a goal on the break moments later.After he handed out several red cards over their angry protests and ended up suspending the match because of the number of players left on the field, angry fans invaded the pitch to let their fists and feet do the talking.
Last night the injured ref said:
“This has got to stop once and for all. I got a real beating. I can’t even move my lips.It was something completely unexpected. I sent a Sarmiento player off for insulting me, another hit me from behind and it all kicked off from there.There were a lot of people, very few police officers and I couldn’t do anything.It’s the first time this has ever happened to me. I’ve got three children, I felt powerless. When I got home my wife and I hugged each other and we cried.”
He told a local radio station: “I don’t make my living from refereeing. I run a construction firm with my dad. I love refereeing and I’m not going to stop now.It’s really bad what happened but things like this make you stronger.“There has to be a really firm punishment for the people who did this.”
A referee in Mexico died last month after being headbutted by a player he had red-carded.
Culled from UK Mirror
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