A REFEREE of grassroots football in Argentina has been arrested after he stabbed a player with a knife on the pitch.
The incident happened during a fight that broke out during the amateur match.
According to the Daily Mail, the incident occurred in a province of Misiones where a local match was being played and officiated by 62-year-old amateur referee Remigio Armoa.
Things took an ugly turn when players surrounded the referee after a decision they disagreed with and he had a knife with which he struck one of the players.
Phone footage showed players chasing and circling the referee in the build-up to the incident that occurred as the referee decided to stab the in the chest, the report added.
Video footage filmed by spectators on the sideline shows the player falling to the ground before being picked up by team-mates and hurriedly escorted off the turf.
The individual who has been named only as Kevin A by local media was rushed to hospital with a punctured lung but fortunately not fatally wounded, according to Daily Mail.
The 21-year-old was later pictured recovering in a hospital bed while scrolling through his phone.
The referee left the scene after the stabbing but he was later arrested by local police who also recovered the knife.
The player’s uncle, who has not been named, told local media: “Kevin is miraculously alive.
“For the family, it is a very delicate moment because he is the Messi of the family.
“He is a boy well gifted for football, thank God he had the opportunity to be in a club like Chacarita.”
