A Russian Beach Rugby Championship match spiraled into a violent bust-up involving both sides when a Dagestan national team player flicked sand into the face of an opponent from local Moscow side ‘Slava’.
The match took place on the first day of the championships at the ‘Dynamo’ Center for Beach Sports in the Russian capital and was tied at 5-5 when a Dagestani player tackles a Slava player to the ground.
Despite the tackle looking innocuous enough - the move constitutes more or less the most integral part of rugby - trouble quickly ensues when the Slava player apparently swings an elbow in the direction of his opponent.
In footage filmed from the stands, the two players square up and after a brief confrontation, the Dagestani player can be seen hurling a handful of sand in the face of his Slava counterpart - and that’s when all hell breaks loose.
Pushing and shoving turns nasty and players from both sides join in the fracas, which quickly escalates into very ugly scenes involving members of the backroom staff and administration, forcing the referee to abandon the match.
Miraculously, no one was seriously hurt in the huge display of unbridled virility involving a few dozen burly men, according to a spokesperson.
“According to the information we have, no one was hospitalized as a result of the fight. The Russian rugby federation will review the issue of sanctions in relation to both teams,” the spokesperson said, TASS reported.
The Russian Beach Rugby Championships were held from July 20-21 in Moscow. The men's competition was won by Energiya from Kazan in Russia's Tatar Republic, and Slava eventually went on to claim the bronze prize.
The women's championship was won by a team from Perm, in Russia's Ural Mountain region.