JAKARTA - The football manager who headbutted a linesman on the pitch was sacked.
The embarrassing incident occurred in the first half of the match between Brazilian minor team Desportivo Ferraviaria and Nova Venecia on Sunday afternoon.
After referee Arthur Gomes Rabelo blew the whistle to mark the end of the first half, Desportivo manager Rafael Soriano stormed onto the pitch to challenge the decision.
Soriano started gesturing to the referee and received a yellow card for his mistake. Lineswoman Marcielly Netto, who looked much shorter than the coach, tried to separate him from Rabelo. But Soriano lost his cool and headbutted the official in the face.
Netto stumbled back and clutched his nose as the referee gave the manager a line-up. The heated situation on the ground prompted police, some with riot shields, to run to the field to defuse the situation.
"If you say that I attacked you, we will go to the police station. We will make a corpus delicti. If not, I will sue you, I will sue you. He said I attacked you. Liar woman," denied Soriano quoted by ESPN .
Despite Soriano's defense, however, in an Instagram post on Sunday evening, Desportivo announced that the manager had been sacked.
New low in football: Brazilian manager Rafael Soriano of 5th tier Brazilian club Desportivo Ferroviaria, headbutting a lineswoman pic.twitter.com/TPdXMCq6Qo
— Tancredi Palmeri (@tancredipalmeri) April 11, 2022
"Desportiva Ferroviária is widely informed that we reject any kind of violence, whether physical, verbal, moral or emotional, especially against women, and we sympathize with arbitration assistant Marcielly Netto, making us available to assist in whatever is needed.
"We also inform you that, in the face of what happened, coach Rafael Soriano has been sacked from the club."
The club posted a further update on Monday, claiming they had attempted to contact Netto to offer their full support.
"We inform you that Desportiva Ferroviária tried to contact referee Marcielly Netto by phone to apologize, offer help, support and make himself available, but was not answered," they said.
"We understand at this time, respect the privacy of the victim and will await the victim's return. We reaffirm our commitment to help in whatever way is needed. The club will also offer professional psychological assistance and develop measures to combat all types of violence against women inside and outside the stadium. ."
The Espirito Santo Football Association has also launched an investigation into the attack, which took place during the quarter-finals of the Capixaba Championship quarter-final match.
The organization said it "rejects any act of violence" and will provide full support to the officials concerned.
As the match resumed, hosts Nova Venecia secured their place in the state semi-finals with a 5-1 aggregate win. Won 3-1 on the day and went 2-0 up in the first leg.
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