Footballer faces arrest after punching referee to the floor in a sickening attack captured on video
Player launches crazy assault as he confronts official over foul decision in Spanish second division B indoor game in Catalonia
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A FOOTBALLER was last night facing arrest and prosecution after punching a referee to the ground in this sickening attack.
The indoor player floored the match official with a right hook after confronting him over a foul he had blown for.
The unnamed aggressor was playing for Barceloneta in the Spanish second division B against Olimpic Floresta in Catalonia in the country’s north-east region.
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League officials said on Sunday they would study the case before deciding how to sanction the player.
Police are also set to get involved if the ref decides to press charges.
Earlier this month a burly footballer was filmed flooring a ref by kneeing him in the head during a vicious assault after being red-carded.
The sickening incident happened early in an amateur match in Portugal between Porto league sides Canelas 2010 and Rio Tinto.
Well-built Canelas number 10 Marco Goncalves was given his marching orders for punching an opponent in the face.
He reacted by attacking ref Jose Rodrigues in a split-second of madness, appearing to grab him by the neck before smashing his knee into his face.
He was later told he would never wear his club colours again.
A footballer was expelled from his club in December after punching a teenage ref to the ground during a match in the northern Spanish city of Zaragoza.
Rhanim Chouaib thumped the 18-year-old with a right hook before punching him twice more as he lay helpless on the ground after he showed a teammate a second yellow card for protesting a penalty.
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Earlier the same month a referee was brutally attacked by angry fans after suspending a match in Argentina and red-carding several players as they insulted him.
Father-of-three Claudio Elichiri had to run for his life after being punched in the face and chased by the hooligans as a handful of officers did what little they could to protect him.
The local league president claimed afterwards it was a “miracle” he was alive as the crocked ref showed off his wounds including a nasty cut under his eye that required four stitches.
The violence erupted during a fourth-division match between Sarmiento and Sansinena, who come from different cities in the province of Buenos Aires.