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Furious player attacks coach over early substitution

A furious early substitute has shoved his manager for pulling him after just 34 minutes in a heated incident that threatened to boil over before teammates and police intervened.

Thiago dos Santos, a Brazilian player for Bolivian club Nacional Potosi, was yanked by manager Edgardo Malvestiti in what turned out to be a 4-0 defeat to rivals Sport Boys.

But it was still 0-0 when dos Santos was pulled, replaced by Eliseo Dury, and that set off the Brazilian.

Dos Santos skipped Dury for the traditional teammate handshake to begin pointing straight at Malvestiti, who was calmly taking a sip of water when he was reached by his angered charge.

Malvestiti's decision to ignore dos Santos for his drink led to the player pushing the manager and a massive scuffle, which included the furious player almost kicking an official in the head.

Pic: Tigo Sports
Pic: Tigo Sports

Dos Santos later claimed there was a dark side to the incident – he reckons Malvestiti has a particular dislike for Brazilians.

“I think even if I had Neymar, Marcelo, Coutinho on my team, the coach would find a way to get them out of the team," he told Globo.

Dos Santos was given a red card for the incident and helped away from the pitch by a local policeman.

And you'd think his future at the club might just be up in the air.

The coach, though, can probably count himself lucky he didn't end up in hospital like the manager of Turkish club Besiktas.