SHOOTING BOOTS
THIS is the crazy moment a football match was abandoned after the referee pulled as angry fans called him a "son of a b***h".
The unnamed match official is claimed to armed himself with a pistol after a controversial decision of a penalty sparked fury during a match in La Jigua, Honduras.
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Local reports said the ref brandished the handgun to protect himself from angry supporters at the end of the amateur clash.
Video shows fans surging across the pitch as the referee strolls around the centre circle with a large pistol in his hand.
Fans can be heard shouting and screaming - and what appears to be gunshots are heard in the first few moments of the video.
The referee appears to fire a few shots into the ground in an effort to disperse the crowd who start to scatter.
A relative is said to have handed him the weapon at the end of the match as he feared he was get beaten up by the fans.
One supporter was overheard insulting the ref by calling him a "son of a b***h" - although he appeared to make a wise decision by staying in the stands.
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The match official has not been identified and it is not yet clear if he will face any disciplinary action over his radical decision.
No one is reported to have been injured during the confrontation.
Honduras has a history of violence in football - most famously the so-called "Football War" which erupted in 1969 between Honduras and El Salvador.
The two national sides met in a two-leg for a World Cup qualifier, with violence erupting during both legs amid ongoing tensions between the South American nations.
Within three weeks the two countries declared war on each other, with the fiery matches being credited with inflaming the relations to a critical point.
Earlier this month three people were killed and one injured during a firefight at a football match in the Mexican state of Guanajuato.
The shocking incident occurred during the second half of an amateur match between Santa Ana del Conde and Zona Piel.
A lone gunman armed with an AK-47 rifle, who fled the scene in a white car and is still being hunted by police, is said to have responsible.
The reason behind the shooting has not been revealed.
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