A soccer referee was decapitated by an angry mob in Brazil after he stabbed a player, according to Reuters. In the grotesque incident, the mob beheaded the referee, then quartered him and put his head on a stick.
The shocking incident occurred after an amateur soccer match in Pio XII. The referee has been identified as 20-year-old Octavio da Silva Catanhede Jordan.
The violence followed a series of bizarre incidents. The referee stabbed a soccer player on June 30 after the player refused to leave the field after being expelled from a game. An argument occurred after the player, Josenir dos Santos, 30, challenged the referee, resulting in the referee repeatedly stabbing the player with a pocketknife. Santos died on the way to the hospital.
According to local reports, a mob came together and attacked the referee after the stabbing, stoning him to death and then decapitating him on the pitch. They then removed his limbs and placed his head on a stick as an act of revenge.
"Reports of witnesses have indicated some people that were in place at the time of the fact," Maranhao Valter Costa, the Chief of Police in Santa Ines, the regional police headquarters for the area, said. "We will identify and hold accountable all those involved.
"A crime will never justify another," he continued. "Actions like this do not collaborate with the legality of a state law."
Police have arrested one suspect, according to USA Today.
Brazil defeated Spain in the Confederations Cup the same day as the violent eruption. The tournament faced demonstrations, some violent, in protest of the $14 billion being spent on World Cup preparations while there is still a lack of adequate public services. Brazil is hosting the 2014 World Cup and the 2016 Olympic Games, and is trying to show it's a safe place for tourists.
This article is copyrighted by Travelers Today, the travel news leader
