Goal sparks brawl and dismissals in Argentina

BUENOS AIRES: Rosario Central forward Teo Gutierrez sparked a brawl which led to himself and an opponent being sent off during his side’s match at Boca Juniors in the Argentine league.

The Colombia forward scored in the 20th minute of Sunday’s match and went to celebrate in front of Boca supporters by drawing an imaginary diagonal stripe across his shirt.

Gutierrez used to play for Boca’s arch-rivals River Plate and the gesture was a clear reference his former club’s white shirts with red diagonal stripe.

Furious Boca players surrounded Gutierrez, pushed and shoved him and knocked him to the ground. Rosario players then leapt to his defence, causing a brawl which lasted several minutes before Gutierrez and Boca’s Ricardo Centurion were both sent off.

There was another scuffle as the pair left the pitch before Gutierrez made another provocative gesture by holding his nose.

It was a reminder of the late River playmaker and coach Angel Labruna who would walk onto the pitch holding his nose during when the surrounding area used to be prone to flooding which caused the sewers to overflow.

Boca coach Guillermo Barros Schelotto said his players should have got on with the game, which ended 1-1. — Reuters