53 red cards shown in Brazilian U20 semi after mass brawl

A Brazilian under-20 semifinal in the Minas Gerais state championship ended in extraordinary chaos when a mass fight led the match official to report 53 red cards and abandon the game.

Mass brawl after late goal

The incident happened in the first leg of the Second Division U20 semifinal between Uberlândia and Mamoré. Tensions began in the 54th minute after a home player was sent off and several members of Uberlândia's staff entered the pitch. The game was halted for about 40 minutes and then resumed.

In the ninth minute of added time, Mamoré scored to make it 3–1; the scorer, Davi, celebrated in a way that provoked the opposition and sparked a large on-field confrontation that involved players, coaching staff and club officials from both sides.

Referee Fernando Patrick Droshgic Modesto recorded that 43 players, eight staff members and two Uberlândia officials were shown red cards — a total of 53 dismissals, surpassing the previous record of 36 expulsions set in February 2011 in an Argentine fifth-division match between Atlético Claypole and Victoriano Arenas. In his report he said the scale of the fighting and the security situation made it impossible to complete the normal procedures for issuing all cards, so he abandoned the match. He also filed a police complaint citing threats and insults, and reported damage to Mamoré's dressing rooms.

The aftermath affected the scheduled second leg on 8 November: with so many players suspended, Mamoré had only seven eligible players. Uberlândia opted to withdraw from the return fixture and declared it a gesture of fair play, thereby conceding the final spot to Mamoré.

Separate online posts claimed the event had set a Guinness World Record with 51 red cards and described extreme scenes — objects used as weapons, ball boys joining the fray and police needed to separate those involved — details that differ in some counts from the referee's official report.

Photo: press material from the event