A semifinal in the second division of the Minas Gerais under-20 championship ended with 53 people sent off after a mass brawl between Uberlândia and Mamoré at Parque do Sabiá in Uberlândia. The dismissals included 43 players, eight coaching staff members and two club officials, according to the referee’s report.
The teams had already seen three players sent off during the match. The majority of the red cards followed a fight in stoppage time, after Mamoré scored its third goal to secure a 3-1 win. The report says Mamoré player Davi Bittencourt made provocative gestures towards the Uberlândia bench during his celebration, sparking the confrontation. Fifty people were dismissed in connection with the brawl.
The referee, Fernando Patrick, wrote that he was unable to show the red cards amid the disorder. The final tally was 24 dismissals for Uberlândia and 29 for Mamoré. The reported total is higher than the previous Guinness World Records mark cited in the account: 36 red cards in an Argentine fifth-division match between Atlético Claypole and Victoriano Arenas in 2011.
The report also describes tension earlier in the game. After an Uberlândia player was sent off in the eighth minute of the second half, the referee said club officials entered the field, challenged the decision and threatened the officiating team. The match was stopped for 40 minutes before security confirmed it could resume.
Uberlândia officials Willer Francisco Silva and André Luiz Nascimento were sent off for insulting and threatening the referee. Patrick said Silva threatened to punch him and made comments expressing a wish to kill him. The referee reported the threats to police.
The three other player dismissals came at different points in the second half: Uberlândia’s Luike Santos was shown a second yellow card in the seventh minute; Mamoré goalkeeper João Henrique received a second yellow in the 22nd minute after protesting a decision; and Uberlândia’s Nelzi Neto was sent off a minute later for punching the goalkeeper in the abdomen.
Patrick’s report further says that during the brawl, ball attendants struck Mamoré players and staff and threw objects at them. It alleges that Silva later kicked Mamoré players near the dressing room and threw the team’s water cooler, massage bag and other equipment into a ditch. A separate claim that the Mamoré dressing room had been damaged was reported to the referee, but no police report concerning that alleged damage had been submitted when the match report was completed.
Sources: CNN Brasil.