Furious footballer faces jail after attack on rival fan in South America (VIDEO)
This is the moment seething Argentine football player Sebastián Pol kicked a rival fan in the face after a game between Audax Italiano and Club Deportivo Universidad Catolica in Chile’s Campeonato Nacional.
Short-fused Pol, who plays as a striker for Audax and has also plied his trade in Bolivia, Costa Rica, and Romania, launched the shocking attack after scaling the railings behind the team dugout just moments after his side’s 1-4 defeat in Chile’s top tier.
Cristobal Aztorquiza, the fan attacked by Pol, said following the attack: ‘He kicked me in the face. He climbed onto the railings and attacked me. I’m going to file a formal complaint.’
The player, 28, did not have time to take a post-match bath, but still ended up in hot water as he was arrested by police in the changing room after the game.
He was pictured smirking as he was led away by officers, and now faces two years in jail if convicted under a Chilean law designed to wipe out violence in football stadiums.
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The incident is reminiscent of an infamous attack by French footballer Eric Cantona when playing for Manchester United against Crystal Palace in the English Premier League 1994-95 season.
In retaliation to abuse from a Crystal Palace supporter shortly after receiving a red card for violent conduct on the pitch, Cantona launched a kung-fu style kick and then a punch at the fan.
Cantona was subsequently banned from competitive football for eight months, fined £30,000 (US $35,000) and sentenced to two weeks in prison, reduced to 120 hours of community service on appeal.
