In the afternoon of 26 February 2011, south of Buenos Aires, Claypole and Victoriano Arenas, corresponding to the First D Argentina, faced each other in a match where neither the relegation nor the championship was decided, as both teams were sailing through the middle of the table. A match that would not be remembered if it were not for the referee Damian Rubino, who sent off 36 players following a "general brawl" and established the Guinness record for red cards shown in one match. Rubino was born in Buenos Aires in 1981. He has worked as a referee for the Argentine Football Association since 2006 and combines it with his work as a public accountant graduated from the University of Buenos Aires. Damian remembers that game in an interview with the Argentine newspaper "Ole".
- What do you remember from that day?
- Everything went like a normal match. I remember that number 7 of Victoriano Arenas, Rodrigo Sanchez, was sent off in the first half and stayed behind the fence, since he happened to live in the town of Claypole and met many people there. Once the game was over, this player entered the field and threw a pineapple at an opponent. That started on the pitch a battle between all.
- Were you afraid that everything would get even more out of control and there would be injuries?
- No, the truth is that, at that moment, I did not realise what was happening; it took us all by surprise. I did not think that the fans could enter, for example. And luckily that didn't happen. To break the myth... of the 36 players sent off, only Sanchez actually saw the red card. Of course, in the dressing room, I took the roster and checked the red card box for all 36 players, but obviously I did not show the red card to all of them on the field because it was a real lack of control.
- Was it the most difficult game you had to referee, because of everything that happened?
- No, not at all. Another time, it happened to me that I had to run off the field because the fans invaded the field, things got more complicated.
- How did you continue in the dressing room?
- Nothing else happened, everything was left on the field. The players fought there and that's where everything was left.
- If you were now at that moment, would you act in the same way?
- No, today I would rely more on technology. I would try to analyze what happened well and put in the report those who participated, the ones who actually hit. Surely, I would miss some. Surely, some of the 36 players did nothing, but at that moment I couldn't distinguish that. For me, they all fought.
Source: Ole
