[protected-iframe id=”ce6fbce6b3edb85db7a8a750a31f423b-60970621-82693135″ info=”https://embed.theguardian.com/embed/video/sport/video/2015/sep/29/referee-pulls-out-gun-during-brazilian-football-match-video” width=”650″ height=”360″ frameborder=”0″ allowfullscreen=””]
If you’ve ever watched a soccer match — I know some of you have — and thought, “Man, these players seem like they can say whatever they want to the referee! In baseball, they’d get thrown out! And they’d get at least a technical foul in basketball,” you’re not alone. It’s weird how often you see soccer players yell and make aggressive gestures at officials with no repercussions. Those guys have thick skin. Well, most of them do. The ref in this amateur Brazilian soccer match was a little more sensitive to criticism than most, and he was packing heat. That’s a dangerous combo.
The Guardian reports that the referee, Gabriel Murta, is also a police officer, which explains why he had the gun. Yet perhaps a man who pulls a gun when a player complains about a call doesn’t have the coolness under pressure required in police work? Murta is reportedly set to undergo a psychological evaluation to determine if he’ll be allowed to continue officiating games, but maybe his police department should check in on him as well.
Even if that was Murta’s last game as a referee, Brazilian soccer’s just going to stay crazy. That’s how Brazil do.
(Via The Guardian)
