FOOTBALL fans were left in shock after a hilarious incident during Venezuela’s victory over Ecuador.
Venezuela pulled off a huge comeback on Saturday by beating Ecuador, who are 24 places ahead of them in the world, 2-1 at Levi’s Stadium.
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With 20 minutes played and the game goalless, the game was turned upside down when Ecuador and former West Ham United striker Enner Valencia was sent off.
It happened after the 34-year-old hit midfielder Josef Martinez in the chest with his removed boots.
Ecuador finally took the lead just before half-time thanks to Jeremy Sarmiento.
In the 57th minute, Venezuela were pushing, with their eyes so firmly fixed on the prize that one player was apparently not very aware of his surroundings.
When the ball was crossed into space outside the box, a Venezuelan player rushed to score, not realizing that the referee was directly in his path.
He crashed straight into the referee’s back, falling straight to the ground, allowing Ecuador to take possession of the ball.
Venezuela coach Fernando Batista immediately went to the fourth official, demonstrating together with his fellow coaches.
The clip quickly made its way to X, formerly known as Twitter, where Men In Blazers subtitled“The Copa América is so chaotic that the referee is eliminating players.”
“Venezuela needs to go to the weight room,” said one fan.
“VAR ruled that the referee should give himself a red card,” commented a second.
“It sounds like a parody but I promise it’s real LOL,” added another.
While a fourth asked: “Why is the bench crying when the player intentionally hit the referee haha.”
Jhonder Cadiz would equalize in the 64th minute, before Eduard Bello sealed the victory ten minutes later.
This marked a historic victory for Venezuela, who had won just one game in the competition in their last two attempts.
USMNT Copa America Schedule
Group C
Sun, June 23, 6pm ET – vs. Bolivia (AT&T Stadium, Arlington, Texas)
Thursday, June 27th, 6pm ET – vs. Panama (Mercedes-Benz Stadium, Atlanta, Georgia)
Monday, July 1st, 9pm ET – vs. Uruguay (Arrowhead Stadium, Kansas City, Missouri)
It was also Cádiz’s first international goal and only Bello’s third.
The next step for Venezuela is Mexico on June 26 at SoFi Stadium.
This will be followed by the final group game against Jamaica on June 30 at the Q2 Stadium.
Ecuador will try to resume the tournament against Jamaica, on June 26, at Allegiant Stadium.
University of Phoenix Stadium and Mexico then await on June 30th.
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This story originally appeared on The-sun.com read the full story
