A Brazilian soccer player faces attempted murder charges after kicking a referee in the head during a lower league match.

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Sport Club Sao Paulo player William Ribeiro lashed out at the official after receiving a foul. The game was halted while the referee was loaded onto an ambulance and taken to the hospital, where he was later released.

A local law enforcement officer said after the attach: "I decided … to charge the lad with attempted murder because, in my perception of the case, he took the risk of [inflicting] a lethal outcome."

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Sport Club Sao Paulo, celebrating its 113th anniversary, called the incident "one of the saddest in its history," and immediately fired Ribeiro afterwards.

The club hails from Rio Grande, a small Brazilian city of about 200,000 people.