Brazilian soccer referee pulls gun on player after being punched in the face

Red cards be damned. When Brazilian referee Camilo Eustáquio de Souza received a punch to the face from a player in the middle of a Passense League soccer match, he saw only one way to control the situation: pull out a handgun.

Here’s the video of de Souza, who is also a police officer, retrieving the gun and a pair of handcuffs from his bag and then chasing after the player. The player, Marcos Lopes Vieira, fled the stadium to avoid a confrontation.

Hey, Arkansas legislators, now do you see why allowing guns into stadiums is a terrible idea?

Here’s how de Souza explained his actions, via Mirror:

My actions were not an exaggeration; the exaggeration was down to the behaviour of the player. I was in charge of the game and to bring things under control I made the decision to act in my capacity as a police officer and arrest a citizen who assaulted me.”

[…]

“I took the handcuffs so everyone could see that I wasn’t going to use aggression but I was going to take him into custody,” Mr de Souza explained.

Sounds like someone may have been inspired by the cops who arrested a kidnapper in the middle of a match last month.

While Vieira will likely face suspension, de Souza has been reported for abuse of power and could face a two-year suspension depending on how the Passense League views the incident.

[Mirror]