Referee sends off 36
Thirty-six players, including both teams and substitutes, were sent off during a Paraguayan junior league soccer match that ended in mayhem.
In the last five minutes of the game on Sunday, referee Nestor Guillen handed out two red cards, one to a player from each team, but the pair ignored him and continued their fight on the field.
In a matter of seconds the clash spun out of control, involving players from both teams and all the replacements.
"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 teammates and even the players from the other team," said Hernan Martinez, president of the home club, Teniente Farina.
Rather than trying to end the brawl, the match officials ran off the field in fear.
For this reason, Martinez believes they had no other recourse but to dismiss all 36 players since they did not stay to identify culprits.
"The referees didn't even stay on the field. As soon as the fighting broke out they went to the dressing room," he said.
“They ran through the tunnel to their dressing room. They weren't able to see anything that happened."
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