A 48-year-old football referee in Argentina has been shot dead after sending off a player during a youth match in Cordoba. Cesar Flores was officiating a game between two local youth teams on Tuesday when he issued a red card to a player for a foul. The player left the pitch, retrieved a revolver, returned, and opened fire on Flores.
Flores was rushed to hospital but later died from his injuries. The suspect is currently on the run, and police are investigating the incident.
The killing is the latest in a series of violent attacks on referees in South America. In 2013, a 20-year-old referee in Brazil was decapitated after fatally stabbing a player he had sent off. In the United States, referee John Bieniewicz died in 2014 after being punched by a player during an over-30s game in Detroit.
