The final of the Campeonato Mineiro between Cruzeiro and Atletico Mineiro, played at the Mineirao stadium in Belo Horizonte, will go down in history for the brawl on the pitch between the members of both teams just before the end and the 23 dismissals decreed by the referee after the match, which he could not show at the time due to the magnitude of the tumult.
The 23 red cards set a new record in Brazilian football history, one more than the Portuguesa-Botafogo match in the Rio-Sao Paulo tournament in 1954.
With the score at 1-0 in favor of Cruzeiro, with a goal by Kaio Jorge in the 60th minute, the tremendous brawl, in which there were punches and kicks all over the pitch, began with a dispute between Cruzeiro midfielder Christian and Atletico MG goalkeeper Everson, who got into a fight over a ball.
From that moment on, a tremendous brawl broke out, which began in the goal and ended up reaching practically the other goal with blows, punches, kicks and races, which took a long time to be appeased in order to play the final minute of the match.
A record for history
Referee Matheus Candaçan subsequently decided on 23 dismissals, 21 of which were justified as follows: “Sent off for, during the general brawl after the end of the match, hitting and punching and kicking opponents, it was not possible to show the red card due to the turmoil”.
The two exceptions were Christian, who was sent off for hitting Everson “in the head with the shin, with excessive force and high intensity”, and the goalkeeper for “assaulting the opponent with brutality, hitting him with the knee in the face”.
Renan Lodi and Hulk among those involved
The other 21 players sent off were, for Cruzeiro, Casio, Fagner, Fabricio Bruno, Joao Marcelo, Villalba, Kaua Prates, Lucas Romero, Matheus Henrique, Walace, Gerson and Kaio Jorge; and for Atletico Mineiro, Gabriel Delfim, Preciado, Lyanco, Ruan Tressoldi, Junior Alonso, Renan Lodi, Alan Franco, Alan Minda, Cassierra and Hulk.
“Sent off for, during the general brawl after the end of the match, punching and kicking opponents, it was not possible to show the red card due to the turmoil,” is the official reasoning in the referee’s report. All will have to serve their suspensions in next year’s Campeonato Mineiro.
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