Click to email this to a friend (Opens in new window)

Reports out of Brazil have slowly surfaced that an amateur soccer match on June 30 in the poor state of Maranhão, Brazil ended with one player stabbed to death and the referee decapitated by angry fans.

According to multiple reports citing police statements on the situation, 20-year-old match referee Octavio da Silva (pictured) showed 30-year-old player Josenir dos Santos Abreu a red card, which started a dispute between the two.

Abreu attempted to either punch or kick the referee, who retaliated by whipping out a knife and stabbing the player. Abreu died of his stab wounds on his way to the hospital.

In retaliation, friends and family of Abreu in the stands rushed the pitch and overwhelmed da Silva, lynching him and stoning him to death before quartering his body and decapitating him, placing his head on a stake.

An official statement from Valter Costa, police chief of Santa Ines in Maranhão, “Reports of witnesses have indicated some people that were in place at the time of the fact. We will identify and hold accountable all those involved. A crime will never justify another. Actions like this do not collaborate with the legality of a state law.”

The investigation is ongoing. Police apparently confirmed that an arrest has been made using videos of the lynching uploaded to social media.