A shocking incident in Argentina has gone viral on social media after one of the players assaulted a referee during a football match.
According to "The Sun", police arrested a footballer after he punched a referee and knocked him to the ground in revenge for being shown a red card.
Footage filmed from the stands shows the player rushing towards the referee and flooring him with a single powerful punch to the face.
Gasps rang out around the ground as the police officers providing security at the match sprinted onto the pitch and arrested the player before he could leave.
All of this unfolded during a regional league match in Capitán Bermúdez, Argentina.
The assault came in the 35th minute with the score at 1-1, moments after referee Hugo Walter Masuelli sent off Barrio Quinta player Jorge Godoy for a foul on the edge of his penalty area.
Furious at the red card, Godoy, aged 35, punched Masuelli, aged 53, on the right cheekbone and sent him crashing onto the grass.
Police officers intervened immediately and arrested Godoy. His teammates tried to stop the officers from leading him away, but they escorted him to the local police station and placed him at the disposal of the duty prosecutor.
Medics treated the referee at the scene before he was transferred to a local health centre for further examinations. Officials suspended the match as a result of the incident.
Barrio Quinta, the visiting team, said in a statement: "Our club considers any kind of assault, threat, insult or violent conduct, whether on or off the pitch, to be completely unacceptable".
The statement continued: "These acts do not represent the values we promote or the sporting spirit that should prevail in every match, and we express our solidarity and support for the referee concerned, as well as for everyone affected by the incident".
Host team Santa Catalina said they would not file a report and would instead await a decision from the Sanlorencina Regional Football Association and its disciplinary board.
The player remains detained at the police station at the time of writing.