FIFA Referee punched in Moldova

Iulian Bursuc, a former international player with five selections in the national team of Moldova, ended his career with a bang. More specifically, he ended his career by first punching a referee and then promptly retiring from the sport.

Bursuc was arguing with an assistant referee with his team trailing 1-0. When the referee comes to intervene, Bursuc caught FIFA referee Ghenadie Sidenco square in the face with a sickening right hook in the 55th minute of the first division match Iskra-Stal – Sfintu Gheorghe. The hot-tempered player was quickly calmed down by his shocked team-mates, and taken into custody by local police who were on the scene. According to the reports, Bursuc, 35, was "so disgusted" with his own behavior that he immediately retired after the game.

Astonishingly, the referee remained completely calm despite the assault, receiving a little attention from one of the team physios and then getting on with the rest of the match. And he quickly showed that his decision making had not been compromised in the least by Sfintu Gheorghe player’s actions as he sent off opposition defender Andrei Porfireanu for a second bookable offence just three minutes after the match restarted.

This was not the first violence of Iulian Bursuc. In early 2000s, in a championship game between the teams Nistru Otaci and Sheriff Tiraspol, he strangled another FIFA referee, Vladimir Antonov.

Source: Yahoo Sports