Disgusting episode in Brazilian football: a DT gave a head butt to a line judge and the club fired him

The Brazilian Deportivo Ferroviaria club announced the termination of the contract of its coach, Rafael Soriano, for giving a header to a line judge in a match for the regional championship of the state of Espírito Santo.

The entity reported in a statement that, “in view of what happened, the coach was disassociated from the club” and that it “repudiates any and all types of violence, whether physical, verbal, moral or emotional, mainly against women.”

“We stand in solidarity with assistant referee Marcielly Netto and make ourselves available for whatever is necessary,” the club added in the note.

The aggression, whose image has had a wide impact on social networks, occurred on Sunday afternoon in a quarter-final match of the so-called Capixaba Championship in the small town of Nova Venecia and in which Desportivo Ferroviaria was eliminated by falling 3-1 against the Nova Venecia club, which advanced to the semifinals.

Dissatisfied with the referee's decision to whistle at the end of the first half when his team was about to take a corner kick, Soriano invaded the Zenor Pedrosa stadium court along with several of his players to demand explanations from the referee Arthur Gomes Rabelo.

After the discussion with the referee and when he was about to leave the court, the coach headbutted the judge in the face, which earned him immediate expulsion. Soriano denied that she had committed the assault, attributed the confusion to an accident and said that the judge wanted to take advantage of the situation because of her status as a woman.

“If you say I attacked you, we'll go to the police station. Let's see if I assaulted you and if not, I'll sue you. She's saying I assaulted her. Lie. She's saying it because she's a woman. She is trying to take advantage of a situation because she is a woman,” the coach shouted as he left the field to TV Educativa do Espírito Santo.

Nova Venecia, the team that entered the semifinals after the victory, also issued a release about what happened on their official Instagram account: “There is no justification for the attack. Especially when you cowardly address a woman. It doesn't matter if you were born in another time. It doesn't matter where you come from. You talk all day on TV, on the Internet, wherever you go. Therefore, we believe that the fight against violence against women should be treated very, very severely.”

“Not only do we repudiate the disgusting and cowardly attitude, but we also expect and demand punishment for the coach in all areas, so that acts like this never happen again, not just on a football field, but in every segment of our lives,” he said.

The Football Federation of the State of Espíritu Santo reported that it opened an investigation and that it will apply the appropriate sanctions rigorously. The Federation said in its note that it “repudiates any act of violence” and that it will give its full support to the judge.

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