THE REFEREE RAN OUT OF POCKET SPACE! A Minas Gerais under-20 semifinal between Uberlandia and Mamore in Brazil ended with a world-record 53 red cards, BBC Sport reported.
The tally: 43 players, eight coaching staff, and two Uberlandia board members sent off. The old record was 36, set in a 2011 Argentine fifth-division match, according to BBC Sport and Reuters via Al Jazeera.
The fuse was lit when Mamore went 3-1 up and a player taunted the Uberlandia bench, BBC Sport reported. “In the 54th minute of the second half, a generalised brawl broke out, making it impossible to show the red cards and to carry out the match-closing protocol,” referee Fernando Patrick Drosghic Modesto wrote. He declared the match over.
Police were called, and their report listed 14 broken doors, wrecked showers, smashed windows, and destroyed benches and chairs. Uberlandia has conceded the second leg because Mamore only has seven players available, calling it “a gesture of fair play.” Mamore goes to the final.
Featured image: AI-generated editorial illustration by Bugle Blast.
Sources: BBC Sport, The Guardian, Al Jazeera/Reuters
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