It was the 82nd minute of a heated Copa Peru match between Sport Huaquilla and Magdalena CEDEC, and frustration hung in the air. Referee Luis Alegre had just reached for his red card, responding to complaints from his linesman. Suddenly, a member of Magdalena’s coaching staff sprinted onto the field, clutching a plastic water bottle.
The boot-to-face occurred when referee Alegre dropped-kicked the forthcoming runner. The lime-green suited-up ninja kicked the coach squarely in the chin.
The coach hit the ground but scrambled to his feet. Players from both sides flooded the area. Shouts erupted. Some tried to hold their teammates back, but anger was rising fast. “Calm down lads, calm down,” match commentators pleaded from the sidelines.
Police rushed onto the pitch to defuse the confrontation. “Police immediately responded to the on-field incident and worked to defuse any further tension between the match officials and the team bench,” reported one eyewitness account. Eventually, players and staff pulled the dazed coach away from the chaos, though the atmosphere remained tense.
Shock and aftermath of the karate kick
In the end, the game was called off. It remains unclear if either Alegre or the coach will face disciplinary action. No official statement has confirmed whether the coach needed medical care, and the Peruvian Football Federation has yet to release details on next steps.
For many fans, this incident echoes past violence in Peruvian soccer. Some recall the story of Brazilian player Welington Smith, who received a lengthy ban for a kick thrown in 2013. Now, observers wonder if a similar punishment will be handed down or if the league will view the referee’s kick as self-defense.
“This sort of thing can’t happen,” one commentator declared, capturing the collective sentiment of the crowd. High-stakes matches can heighten emotions, but few expect a confrontation like this to erupt so forcefully.
By the time the dust settled, Sport Huaquilla remained the winner with a 2-1 scoreline, though the result was overshadowed by the unforgettable moment of that flying kick. Fans took to social media in droves, replaying the clip and debating who was at fault. In a league often marked by passion, this time, it spiraled into something else—an extraordinary flash of violence that no one saw coming.
