Football: record-breaking brawl in Brazil, 23 sent off in Cruzeiro-Atletico Mineiro match

Rome, 9 March (LaPresse) – A record-breaking brawl with 23 players sent off. It happened in Brazil during the derby between Cruzeiro and Atletico Mineiro, with a place in the Campeonato Mineiro final at stake. The chaos was triggered and the brawl started by a clash between Cruzeiro striker Christian and the visiting goalkeeper, Everson. The referee’s report, published this morning, details the red cards given to players from both teams, highlighting that the brawl was caused by the goalkeeper’s behaviour, who “acted brutally by kneeing his opponent in the face” after being hit “in the shin with his head and with excessive force and intensity” by the Cruzeiro midfielder. As for the other players who took part in the brawl, the referee used the same reasoning to justify the direct expulsion of the players involved: ‘Expulsion for punching and kicking opponents during the brawl after the end of the match. It was not possible to show the red card due to the chaos.” So much so that the military police had to intervene to try to break up the brawl. This is the match with the most red cards in the history of Brazilian football. It broke the previous record of 22 red cards, set in Portuguesa-Botafogo in the Rio-São Paulo tournament, which had stood since 1954.