By Chris Wright
Corinthian midfielder Petros has found himself slapped hard with an enormous SIX-MONTH ban after colliding with a referee during a recent Brazilian league game.
The incident occurred during Corinthians’ 1-0 victory over rivals Santos on August 10th, with Petros clattering into the referee from behind and appearing to land a forearm across the official’s back…sort of.
The referee in question, Raphael Claus, was caused to stumble by the impact but later admitted that he didn’t think he was hit on purpose.
Petros himself also claimed after the game that the collision was not intentional and that he was merely chasing the ball.
However, according to Globo, Brazil’s sports tribunal adjudged on Monday that Petros had indeed struck the referee intentionally (in retaliation for the official not moving out of a teammate’s way seconds before) and duly decided to ban the 25-year-old for a total of 180 days – which seems overly harsh to us, but hey-ho.
Perhaps unsurprisingly Globo add that Corinthians’ lawyers are expected to appeal the decision in due course.