Football linesman shot mid-match and killed after ‘petty row over parked bike’

A linesman has died after he was shot during a football match in a petty squabble over a parked motorcycle.

Assistant referee João Marques Pereira was rushed to hospital in the wake of the shocking attack. But he died on Wednesday (November 15) morning, two months after he was gunned down.

The victim was shot as he marshalled a football match on September 9. Officers heading to the scene managed to arrest suspect Laércio Pedro da Silva as he allegedly tried to flee by car in the opposite direction.

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Police went to the spot in rural Macaíba, Brazil, and found a loaded 38 calibre revolver with at least two bullets missing. According to João Henrique Queiroz, vice president of the state referees’ union, Pereira was shot following a dispute over a parked motorcycle.

He said: “The shooter had a motorcycle in the area where the assistant runs on the sideline. There was a disagreement because of this, as the referee asked him to remove the motorcycle.

“He left, armed himself, came back, and fired.” Tragic João, nicknamed Dão, was taken to a local A&E and then to a hospital in nearby Parnamirim with gunshot wounds to his wrist, shoulder, and abdomen.

He ended up losing the affected kidney, his spleen, part of his intestines, and risked paraplegia. He had been working as a referee for 40 years and was certified by the state football federation.

Da Silva, who is out on bail, was first charged with attempted murder but now faces a charge of homicide with aggravating factors.

The local authorities have since said in a statement: “The Municipality of Macaíba, especially everyone at the Municipal Department of Sports and Leisure who had been closely monitoring his health, received with great sadness the news of the passing of referee João Marques Pereira, better known as Dão.

“Our deepest condolences go out to his family, friends, and all those involved in sports in our Municipality. May God bring comfort to everyone’s hearts in this time of sorrow.”

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