A Colombian soccer star was attacked on the field by a fan before a match on Sunday, causing the player to retaliate and the scheduled game getting postponed.
Videos show Daniel Catano of Millonarios being attacked from behind while warming up before a Categoria Primera A game against Deportes Tolima, for whom Catano played for the previous five years.
Catano had been getting jeered by Tolima fans in Ibague, Colombia before the fan ran onto the field and hit him on the head.
The fan tried to run away, but Catano chased him down and knocked him to the ground. The fan was apprehended by security and taken away.
The incident led to the referee issuing a red card to Catano before the match began and Millonarios reportedly refused to play, resulting in the postponement.
Millonarios said in a statement that the postponement was due to “the difficulty of guaranteeing the safety of the players.”
According to The Sun, Deportes Tolima president Cesar Camargo took issue with Millonarios refusing to play.
“The fan is out of control and will have to be prosecuted,” Camargo said. “And for a team to withdraw from the field is a boycott of the game and the sport, it is not worth putting pressure on us in that way.”
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David Silva, Millionarios’ captain, explained to the referee why his team did not want to play.
“Safety of the coaching staff, players, is above anything else,” Silva said in video captured by Win Sports TV. “We have to set a precedent so that we educate ourselves as a society. We have to take care of each other.”