A Brazilian football match between Vitoria and Bahia was abandoned with 11 minutes remaining after the hosts had six players sent off in a game marked by a mass punch-up between players from both sides. The score in the Bahia state championship clash between the two local rivals was 1-1 when Bruno Bispo became the ninth player in all, and the fifth from Vitoria, to be shown the red card. With teams requiring a minimum of seven players, the referee was forced to abandon the game.
Denilson opened the scoring for Vitoria after 33 minutes, but Vinicius levelled with a penalty kick four minutes into the second half. He celebrated with a provocative dance in front of the Vitoria supporters, which sparked outrage between the home fans and players. The situation escalated rapidly, as Vitoria players came racing over and a nasty brawl developed behind the goal. Punches were thrown from both sides and five players were sent off, three from Bahia and two from Vitoria. It took 16 minutes for the situation to calm down. However, tensions were still running high as the referee sent off two more players, one from each side, just minutes later. The aggressive tensions quickly spread to the stands, resulting in some ugly scenes. With 13 minutes left, a fourth Vitoria player was sent off and Bispo responded stupidly by kicking the ball away and forcing the referee into awarding him his second yellow and a match-ending red card. A sporting court in Brazil will now decide what action to take over the indiscipline. It is expected that Bahia will be awarded a 3-0 victory.
