Mass brawl sees 23 red cards as Cruzeiro beat Atletico Mineiro in Brazil

Kaio Jorge netted the winner for the hosts - overseen by former Brazil head coach Tite - but a violent coming together in the final seconds overshadowed the result.

A clash between Cruzeiro's Christian and Atletico-MG goalkeeper Everson sparked the incident, with the two coming together following a saved shot.

The goalkeeper appeared to plant his knee on the Cruzeiro midfielder which caused his team mates to get involved to confront their opponent. That then saw further players rush in as both security staff and the police struggled to contain the trouble.

Reports in Brazil outline that the referee - Matheus Delgado Candancan - waited until the fighting had stopped before showing the cards to those on the pitch. He'd dished out nine yellows during the game.

Among the 11 sent off on the Atletico Mineiro side of things were former Brazil forward Hulk and ex-Nottingham Forest defender Renan Lodi, with 12 dismissed for Cruzeiro.

It was, unsurprisingly, the most red cards ever awarded in a Brazilian football match.

Speaking to the Brazilian media after the game, Hulk is quoted as saying: "It’s regrettable, I have never seen violence like that in any football game.

"We cannot set that example because it ends up having repercussions all around the world. We have a responsibility to safeguard our image and the image of the institution."

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