Nikolai Moshchev, a 65-year-old ref from Porkhov, has been hospitalized after a Russian soccer match he was refereeing went all the way bad for him.
The key incident, at the end of the game, appears to have occurred when a Porkhov attack ended with a foul on the edge of the box. The referee gave a free-kick, which Porkhov scored to go 3-2 ahead while the Gdov players were still arguing with the referee. At this point, the referee took the unusual decision of cancelling out the goal but awarding a penalty instead, which Porkhov also scored, leading to further scenes of chaos.
A fan in attendance said it was not rare for games to end in fights, and said two other games in the Pskov league that day had also featured brawls.
By Glenn Erby
