A PLAYER has died after receiving a flying kick to the chest from an opponent during a friendly match in Brazil.
Father-of-one Geovani Biancho, 42, passed away shortly after being rushed to hospital.
An unnamed 21-year-old has been questioned by police but released on bail pending an investigation because he wasn’t caught ‘red-handed’.
Local reports say he has confessed to the assault but claimed he ‘lost his head’ in a moment of madness.
Amateur player Biancho, who leaves a wife and a three-year-old son, was attacked on Saturday during a friendly near the city of Carlos Barbosa in southern Brazil.
He was playing for the local side Torinense Recreational and Cultural Sporting Club.
A witness has reportedly told police he got into an argument with an opponent after committing a foul but claimed the aggressor was a third man who hit him in the chest with a flying kick.
The unnamed witness told a local paper: “We thought he was going to separate the two men including the victim who were arguing but instead he ran up to him and delivered a flying kick.”
Biancho’s team-mates assisted him after he started convulsing on the ground and an ambulance was called but he was pronounced dead just before midnight the same day.
The attacker is said to have fled the scene before being apprehended.
A regional cup final that was due to take place over the weekend was postponed until December 19.
In October a Brazilian footballer was charged with attempted murder after he was filmed brutally kicking a referee in the head in a game in the south of the country.
The player, William Ribeiro of Sport Club São Paulo, attacked the referee after he awarded a foul against him during a league game away against Guarani.
The match was halted for nearly 15 minutes while ref Rodrigo Crivellaro was taken to hospital. He was later released.
Video footage showed how Ribeiro booted Crivellaro before taking another horrible kick to his ground as the ref lay helplessly on the ground
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