New Red Card World Record Set As Police Called to Stop Brawl in Brazil

The first leg of the Minas Gerais U-20 Championship semifinals between Uberlândia and Mamoré produced a total 53 red cards after a mass brawl needed breaking up by military police.

Three players had already been sent off by the time Mamoré went 3–1 up against Uberlândia in the 54th minute of the game. Mamoré’s Davi Fernandes Bittencourt celebrated the goal in front of the opposition bench, sparking a furious response from goalkeeper coach Paulo Sérgio Dias dos Santos that triggered an almighty brawl.

Players, substitutes and staff members were all involved in a huge fight that culminated in a total of 53 red cards being shown across the match. Forty-three players were dismissed alongside eight coaches and two Uberlândia officials.

The final tally of 53 red cards comfortably shatters the record recognized by Guinness World Records—the 36 shown in a Argentinian fifth-division game between Club Atlético Claypole and Victoriano Arenas in 2011—but that organization only focuses on professional matches and is not expected to announce a new record.

The match, which had already been delayed by 40 minutes after Uberlândia officials stormed the pitch to protest an earlier red card, had to be abandoned as a result of the brawl, with military police called to help break up a fight that continued back in the locker rooms and led to significant damage to the stadium facilities.

Footage of the aftermath shows broken doors, sinks, toilets, showers, benches and plenty of other objects, while smashed windows and damaged electrical wiring were also reported.

“I hereby inform you that, at the moment I was about to present the red cards to player number 02 of Mamoré and the goalkeeping coach of Uberlândia, at 54 minutes of the second half, a general brawl broke out, making it impossible to present the red cards and carry out the protocol to end the match,” said referee Fernando Patrick Drosghic Modesto in a statement.

The two sides had been due to contest the second leg of the tie at the weekend but, to nobody’s surprise, that match will no longer be played.

Luike Bispo dos Santos

Nelzi Neto de Oliveira Cardoso

Santiago Erler Novellino

Pedro Henrique Garcia Marquez

Lucas de Lima Caixeta

Pietro Afonso Custodio da Silveira

Alirio Rodrigues de Oliveira Neto

Italo Kauan da Silva Medeiros

Pedro Henrique Jacinto dos Santos

Micaell Torres da Silva Antunes

Vinicyus Gabriel Costa Cerqueira da Silva

Arthur Henrique Aquino Matias

Francesco Pozzo

Jhonnatan Araujo Barbosa

Pedro Henrique Sant'ana de Souza

Jaaziel Augusto de Medeiros Pereira

Arthur Manoel Silva Souza

Italo Leite Gimenes dos Santos

Marcio Kalebe Sales Guimaraes

Paulo Jefferson Santos da Silva Junior

Caio Garcia dos Santos

Luiz Felipe Monteiro dos Santos

Marcelo Augusto Ferreira (coach)

Gabriell Elias Alves Vieira (coach)

Brian Vaz Oliveira (physiotherapist)

Paulo Sérgio Dias dos Santos (goalkeeping coach)

Willer Francisco Silva (director)

André Luiz Nascimento (academy official)

Joao Henrique Lopes Vieira

Davi Fernandes Bittencourt

Pedro Francisco Lima da Silva

Arthur Alves Bessa

Daniel Goncalves de Souza

Joao Vitor Lima Araujo

Deivison Aparecido Sousa Carrijo

Vitor Deodato Franca

Luiz Fernando Felix Pinheiro Carnauba

Fabio dos Santos Camara

Arthur Fernandes Lourenco de Esmelia

Rafael Miranda da Silva

Kaua Eduardo Moreira

Aridio de Oliveira Neto

Matheus da Silva Lima

Vitor Gabriel Imeri Goncalves

Augusto Mariano Alves Nunes

Natan Silva Pereira

Ronald Pires Marinho

Kaiki Flavio Gomes Santos

Gustavo Manoel Campos Dias

Quintino Mariz de Oliveira Filho (coach)

Francisco Luis Domingues (assistant)

Gabriel Santos Cruz de Castro (massage therapist)

Vinicius Januario Bastos Chaves (goalkeeping coach)

Uberlândia, 3–1 down at the time the match was abandoned, released a statement confirming they have accepted elimination from the tournament as a “gesture of fair play” to Mamoré, who have been left with just seven eligible players because of all the suspensions handed out.

“Verdão seeks its victories on the field, with merit and respect for the opponent, and therefore recognizes Mamoré’s qualification for the final,” a club statement read.

The on-field turmoil may be over, but the incident is now in the hands of the police, who are investigating whether any further charges need to be brought against any of the individuals involved.