Football
ESPN staff 7y

Belencoso and Cunha sent off following an ugly brawl

 

The second leg of the semifinal between Mumbai City FC and Atletico de Kolkata was marred by an ugly altercation involving Juan Belencoso and Thiago Cunha after the final whistle.

Despite playing with a man advantage - Kolkata's left-back Robert Lalthlamuana was sent off just before the break for a second yellow - Mumbai were unable to break Kolkata down, meaning the visitors went through to the final 3-2 on aggregate after the goalless draw.

However, just before the referee called time on the game, Belencoso appeared to be tripped by Mumbai midfielder Leo Costa. A visibly displeased Belencoso then proceeded to have a go at Costa with his head, prompting angry reactions from both camps.

Several players got involved in separate altercations, pushing and shoving each other. Just when a fired-up Belencoso was being pulled away from the scene by some of his team-mates, Thiago Cunha - a second-half substitute for Mumbai- came charging in, lifted off the ground, and attempted to kick out at the Kolkata striker.


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Cunha immediately wheeled away as a hoard of Kolkata players and backroom staff members chased him, capping off a scarcely-believable scene in Andheri. Cunha and Belencoso were later handed red cards, while TV replays showed Kolkata's right-back Pritam Kotal bleeding just below his right eye, though it is unclear how he picked up the bruise.

In the post-match press conference, Mumbai's head coach Alexandre Guimaraes said he had not seen the entire incident because he was busy "trying to separate the players".

Kolkata manager Jose Molina also did not have the full picture: "I don't know what happened at the end of the game. I don't know who did what, and what started that, but it was absolutely bad. When the match finishes, you have to shake hands and say congratulations. In the dressing room."

The ISL's disciplinary committee said they would take another look at the incident before considering further sanctions.

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