South American footballer stomps opponent in horror tackle

Fans demand a South American footballer cops a massive ban over a horror tackle that could have ended his opponent’s career.

Fans have called for an unprecedented ban after witnessing a horror tackle during the Copa Libertadores.

In a clash between Paraguayan outfit Cerro Porteno and Chilean club Colo-Colo, one player was given his marching orders after landing a brutal tackle on his opponent, as The Sun reports.

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Cerro Porteno fullback Alan Benitez was chasing Colo-Colo defender Maximiliano Falcon when he appeared to lose patience with the Uruguayan’s ability to evade his pressure.

Benitez, 30, who was behind Falcon at the time, stamped down on the back of the 27-year-old’s leg with his studs, as you can see in the video above.

The forceful stamp scraped all the way down Falcon’s calf and heel leaving the star writhing in pain on the floor.

Shocking tackle in Copa Libertadores match. Photos: Twitter

It looked as though Benitez had made no real attempt to win the ball and was instead aiming to only make contact with Falcon.

The referee had a great view of the foul and immediately reached into his pocket to send Benitez off in the 99th minute of the clash.

But fans watching on from home felt a dismissal wasn’t enough of a punishment and were calling for Benitez to be reprimanded further.

On social media one wrote: “Brutal. Needs to be banned.”

While another added: “That needs to be a year long ban.”

A third commented: “Why would he do that?!! He could literally end his career with that! I hope he gets pulled up on. That’s so violent.”

It appeared to be a deliberate act. Photo: Twitter

And a fourth posted: “10-20 game ban for that in my opinion.”

Benitez may have been taking out his frustrations at the result with the game ticking towards its conclusion when he made the foul.

The score ended 1-1, meaning that a draw saw Colo-Colo advance to the knockout rounds of the competition.

Benitez’s Cerro Porteno were knocked out and are resigned to participation in the Copa Sudamericana – essentially the Europa League of South American football.

This article originally appeared in The Sun and was reproduced with permission

Originally published as South American footballer stomps opponent in horror tackle