An Italian referee produced a fine example of practising what you preach when he resisted retaliating to a full-blooded kick to the calf from a player he had just sent off.

The ninth-tier league game between Castel San Niccolò and visitors Fortis Arezzo, which took place on a mud-soaked pitch just outside Florence, was 0-0 when the home side’s No 11 was shown a red card.

As the referee went to put the card back in his pocket and turn away, the incensed San Niccolò player lashed out with a violent kick – but remarkably the official was unmoved, managing to keep his feet and standing his ground before his attacker was carried away from the field by a team-mate.

When play resumed 11-man Arezzo ran riot with striker Massimiliano Pecorari scoring all their goals in a 4-0 win. San Niccolò are pinned to the bottom of the table without a win all season and with only one point from 22 games.