Horror! The Brazilian Second Division Referee Fainted After A Player Kicked His Head, Was Taken By An Ambulance To The Hospital

Ambulance enters the field as it is about to take Crivellaro to hospital (Twitter @skysportsnews)

JAKARTA - Brazilian referee Rodrigo Crivellaro collapsed after being kicked in the head by a player during a second division match. Crivellaro was immediately taken to hospital in an ambulance.

Crivellaro was kicked by William Ribeiro twice in the match between Sao Paulo de Rio Grande and hosts Guarani de Venancio Aires on Monday. The second shot was taken by Ribiero as the referee slumped to the ground.

The incident occurred after Crivellaro did not award a free kick to Ribeiro's Sao Paulo team. The match was stopped and Crivellaro was taken to a local hospital in an ambulance that entered the playing field.

Brazilian footballer Ribeiro was arrested after knocking a referee unconscious by kicking him in the head during a match, and later had his contract terminated as a result of the assault. pic.twitter.com/cijEFuZbk8

— Sky Sports News (@SkySportsNews) October 6, 2021

Crivellaro was allowed to leave hospital on Tuesday morning. The referee told reporters he had not seen footage of the incident.

Sport Club Sao Paulo released a statement regretting "one of the saddest episodes in their history" and that the player's contract with the club had been terminated.

Ribeiro was arrested at the stadium and charged with attempted murder. Local police investigator Vinicius Assuno told reporters a judge would decide whether Ribeiro would remain in custody during the investigation or be released on bail.

CÁRCEL PARA RIBEIRO📸: Carlos Dickow🗃 Jornal Folha do MateVía @GauchoInforma pic.twitter.com/QrQNKutPz8

— ️ Guillermo Fernández Sosa (@guillefersos) October 5, 2021

"His attack was very strong and hard, kicked the referee in the head and knocked him unconscious," Assuno said, as reported by Sky Sports. "The referee didn't have a chance to defend himself."

Ironically, the incident happened on the day Sao Paulo celebrates their 123rd anniversary.