A Brazilian striker was despatched off in a top-division match on Saturday after hitting a rival together with his elbow simply three seconds right into a match.
Cruzeiro’s Rafa Silva left his crew one man down in what ended as a 3-0 defeat at Athletico Paranaense.
Silva hit Athletico’s Kaique Rocha barely under his neck as they challenged for the ball shortly after kick off.
Referee Rodrigo José Pereira de Lima duly despatched the 32-year-old Cruzeiro participant off for one of many earliest purple playing cards in soccer historical past.
Athletico are preventing in opposition to relegation from Brazil’s Serie A.
Cruzeiro are looking for one of many high positions to safe a direct berth within the subsequent version of the Copa Libertadores.
The crew from Belo Horizonte rested a few of their gamers for the match within the metropolis of Curitiba to allow them to recuperate for the second leg of the Copa Sudamericana at Argentina’s Lanus subsequent week. The primary leg ended 1-1.
Info from The Related Press contributed to this report.
