SAO PAULO (Reuters) – A Brazilian footballer with Porto Alegre side Gremio was hit by a cell phone while celebrating a goal on Saturday and forced to leave the field to get medical treatment.
Lucas Silva was celebrating Gremio’s third goal in their 3-0 win over city rivals International when the phone thrown from the terraces hit him in the face.
“Substitution, Lucas Silva off, bleeding after being hit by a cell phone,” Gremio said in their Twitter report on the game.
Video of the incident showed the 29-year-old former Real Madrid and Marseille midfielder bleeding from the mouth.
The assault came in the 79th minute of the semi-final of the state championship of Rio Grande do Sul state.
It was the second serious incident between the two rivals in less than a month.
A matchup between the two sides was called off moments before kick off in February when fans attacked the Gremio team bus on its way to Internacional’s stadium.
The two teams meet again in the second leg of the semi-final at the Gremio arena on Wednesday.
(Reporting by Andrew Downie; editing by Jonathan Oatis)
