36 red cards at football match

A SHOCKING brawl during a junior league football  match in Paraguay resulted in  36 PLAYERS, including both teams and substitutes,  being dismissed.

In the final minutes of the clash between Teniente Farina and Libertad, ref  Nestor Guillen handed out two red cards, one to a player from each team, but  the pair ignored him and continued their feud on the field.


Moments later the row raged out of control, with players from both teams and  all the subs getting involved.
Hernan Martinez, president of Teniente Farina, said: “Many of the players  that  were on the field and on the substitutes’ bench, everyone went on to the  field to try to control their team-mates and even the players from the other  team.”

Rather than trying to stop the brawl, scared match officials left the pitch  in  fear.
Martinez added: “The referees didn’t even stay on the field. As soon as the  fighting broke out they went to the dressing room.

“They ran through the tunnel to their dressing room. They weren’t able to see  anything that happened.
“But in the report, to more or less wash their hands of the responsibility,  they expelled all 36 players.”
Visiting Libertad club president Sixto Nunez claimed the match officials had  avoided their duties in fleeing the scene.

Nunez said: “The referee needed to take better care of the boys. He should  have made sure that the two dismissed players were completely off the field.
“Instead, the officials left the field and when the players were all leaving  together that’s when the fighting started again.”

The players, who were all automatically suspended, await censure from the  league’s disciplinary committee.