An easily angered footballer has been arrested after he punched and killed a 59-year-old referee during a match in the Mexican amateur league.
Reports confirm the umpire had issued a second yellow card to his attacker in the shocking incident which occurred during a football match between Canarios-Rojo Gómez and Lindavista.
The fateful game was played inside a stadium in Tulancingo, a location in Hidalgo, Mexico.
In an online video, the referee was seen displaying a yellow card – the second one which qualifies as a red card, before he was struck with a thunderous blow. The footballer hit him with his left arm.
After the man collapsed, he was quickly surrounded by the player’s teammates before paramedics rushed in to offer help.
Unfortunately, the medical staff carried out prolonged resuscitation procedures which yielded no luck. The man died at the scene.
According to reports, the player sneaked out from the stadium and escaped in his car. However, he was later arrested by police after his pictures were circulated in the media.
The referee has been identified as Victor Trejo.
An autopsy showed he died of a traumatic brain injury, The Mirror reported.
Alejandro Monzalvo of the Referees Association of Pachuca said officials were “exposed”.
“If a player is going to hit you, he will hit you, there is no way to stop them,” he said.
