On June 30, 2013, 20-year-old referee Otávio Jordão da Silva officiated an amateur soccer match in Brazil, when he sent off player Josenir dos Santos Abreu after an argument. The confrontation escalated, and witnesses said Silva stabbed Abreu with a knife, killing the player on the field.
Enraged spectators and relatives of the victim then swarmed the referee, stoning, lynching, and stabbing him to death in retaliation. The mob went further, dismembering and beheading Silva and placing his head on a stake near the pitch.