A Brazilian soccer referee pulled a gun during a soccer match after a player allegedly punched the official in the face while protesting a penalty.
The match took place at Starling Soares Stadium in Passos, Brazil, last Sunday, when Marcs Lopes Vieira reportedly disputed a call made by referee Camilo Eustáquio de Souza, who is also a police officer, the Mirror reported.
Oriente from Passos and Industrial from Itaú de Minas were playing for the Amador Regional Championships in the Passense League, the Mirror noted. Oriente led 3-2 30 minutes into the second half when the Industrial goalkeeper fouled an opposition striker about to score.
De Souza awarded a penalty in the midst of the confusion, leading Vieira to allegedly punch him. De Souza was recorded grabbing a weapon from his bag along with a pair of handcuffs before going after Vieira, wrote the Mirror.
Vieira reportedly ran away, jumping a stadium fence before hiding in the dressing room.
"My actions were not an exaggeration; the exaggeration was down to the behavior of the player," de Souza said in defending his action, according to the Mirror. "I was in charge of the game and to bring things under control I made the decision to act in my capacity as a police officer and arrest a citizen who assaulted me."
It was not the first time a Brazilian soccer referee took such action to supposedly defend himself. In 2015, referee Gabriel Murta was restrained by another referee after he went to the locker room to get a weapon during a soccer match, wrote The Telegraph.
Murta, who also works as a police officer, was calling a regional league match in Brumadinho near Belo Horizonte, Brazil's sixth largest city and the capital of the state of Minais Gerais, noted The Telegraph.
League president Valdenir de Castro said that Murta was kicked and slapped after substitute players from Amantes da Bola demanded a red card for a rival team player. Referees' association leader Giuliano Bozzano said that Murta felt threatened and went to look for the weapon to defend himself.
Murta was scheduled to undergo a psychological assessment at that time and faced suspension or a permanent ban, stated The Telegraph.
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