Police had to use tear gas to break up a mass brawl after a Bolivian top-flight match between Blooming and Bolivar, which saw seven players sent off and eight booked. The violence continued in the changing rooms after the final whistle, prompting officers to intervene again with tear gas to restore order.
Five players were dismissed following a first-half melee that began when Blooming goalkeeper Braulio Uraezana confronted Bolivar's Damian Batallani after a collision. Both sets of players exchanged punches and kicks, with Uraezana himself throwing punches at opponents before police ran onto the pitch to separate them.
Two more red cards followed in the second half, leaving Blooming with seven men on the pitch and Bolivar with eight. The away side won 2-1 with a goal three minutes into stoppage time. Post-match press conferences were cancelled as fighting spread to the dressing rooms.
Bolivar goalkeeper Carlos Lampe said: 'I was concerned about what happened at the end of the game. That can't happen. They hit our goalkeeping coach, they got into a fistfight. There wasn't enough security.' Red-carded midfielder Daniel Catano criticised the referee, saying he 'got carried away by the emotion of the moment'.
Despite the chaos, the match did not set a national record. The most red cards in a Bolivian top-flight game remains eight, during a 1999 match also involving Blooming. The Bolivian Football Federation said it was considering sanctions against both clubs. For context, the most red cards in a Premier League match is three, though that has occurred several times.
