23 Players Sent Off After Mass Brawl In Brazil

Red cards were issued to 23 players after a mass brawl broke out between Brazilian clubs Cruzeiro and Atletico Mineiro in the Campeonato Mineiro final.

Kaio Jorge scored the winner in Belo Horizonte as Cruzeiro, managed by former Brazil boss Tite, edged rivals Atletico 1-0 to become the champions of the state of Minas Gerais for the first time since 2019.

But the match was marred by a violent melee in the dying seconds, which forced security staff and military police to intervene and resulted in 23 players, including Atletico’s former Brazil forward Hulk, being sent off retrospectively.

The mass confrontation began when Atletico goalkeeper Everson pushed Christian to the ground and planted his knee on the chest of the Cruzeiro midfielder, who had collided with him while chasing a loose ball.

Christian’s team-mates immediately confronted Everson, shoving the keeper onto the goalpost, triggering wider issues as more players joined in while security staff tried to separate the teams.

Though no red cards were issued by referee Matheus Delgado Candancan during the game, Brazilian media outlet Globo reported, external 23 players were sent off later because the fight stopped the match official from showing the cards on the field.

Cruzeiro had 12 players including goalscorer Jorge sent off. Former Atletico Madrid and Nottingham Forest full-back Renan Lodi and Hulk were among the 11 Atletico players dismissed.

The record for the most red cards in a senior game came during a match between Atletico Claypole and Victoriano Arenas in the fifth division of Argentine football in February 2011.

All 36 players who were involved in the match were sent off for what the referee described in his post-match report as a “generalised brawl.”

“It’s regrettable,” Hulk said after Sunday’s final.

“We cannot set that example because it ends up having repercussions all around the world. We have a responsibility to safeguard our image and the image of the institution.”

Both Atletico and Cruzeiro are winless after four Serie A games this season and sit 17th and 19th respectively in the Brazilian top flight.