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ARCHIVED - Marbella footballer arrested for punching referee over a disputed goal
The victim suffered head trauma and a broken nose from the attack during a Senior Andalucían Third Division match
The National Police in Marbella have arrested a 30-year-old footballer who violently attacked the referee during a Senior Andalucían Third Division match. The 21-year-old victim suffered "a head injury, concussion with loss of consciousness, closed nasal bone fracture, and whiplash," according to his medical report.
A police source explained that the attacker fled the pitch after his outburst but was tracked down a short time later and arrested.
As explained in a statement by the referee, Cristóbal Herrera, was attacked at around 8.15pm, just after the visiting team had scored a goal. As Mr Herrera was recording the result in his notebook, he claims that a local footballer approached him and punched him in the face without warning.
The blow knocked the ref to the ground and he briefly lost consciousness.
The goal pushed the visiting team into the lead and the home team strongly objected to the score, claiming the player had been offside. This is part and parcel of the game, the referee explained, and he wasn’t unduly concerned.
"I was talking to the players calmly and they were talking to me the same way. However, when I was going to score the goal because everything had calmed down, this individual came from behind, I was completely unprotected and couldn’t see that someone was coming, and he hit me a punch to the left cheekbone," he said.
After that, he says he doesn't remember anything: "I didn't feel the pain at that moment. I fell to the ground and lost consciousness for about a minute and I only remember the moment when they lifted me up to sit down.
“The first thing I asked was if they had hit me with a ball and the people, very surprised by my question, told me that I had been punched very hard. I asked who it was and they answered that it was a player,” he added.
Image: Policia Nacional
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