How Football Referee Was Beheaded By Fans Who Placed His Head On A Stake In The Centre Of Pitch

2 mins read

In what will come across as a really shocking development, an amateur football match in Brazil once ended in the most gruesome fashion imaginable – with fans beheading the referee and placing his head on a stake in the middle of the pitch.

The horrifying incident played out in Maranhao, Brazil, back in June 2013 and began when referee Otavio Jordao da Silva chose to send off footballer Josenir dos Santos Abreu.

Abreu did not take the sending off well, reportedly refusing to leave the field before throwing a punch at the official.

In retaliation, Da Silva is said to have drawn a knife from his pocket and repeatedly stabbed the player, who died on his way to hospital.

After watching the incident occur, a group of spectators at the game, including Abreu’s friends and family, invaded the pitch and turned on Da Silva; tying the referee up, beating him, stoning him, decapitating him and quartering him before planting his head on a stake in the middle of the pitch.

A report from the New York Times opened up even further on the ghastly nature of the murder, claiming Da Silva was smashed in the face with a bottle of liquor, pummelled with a wooden stake, run over by a motorcycle and stabbed in the throat.

One suspect, Luiz Moraes de Souza, was arrested over the murder, with police also searching unsuccessfully for two more suspects.

Police chief Valter Costa was quoted as saying at the time: “One crime never justifies another crime. Actions likes this do not collaborate with the legality of state law.”

Costa also added: “In the first moment, I didn’t believe it happened.

“I didn’t think human beings had such perverseness to do this.”

Daily Star UK