Brazilian mob decapitates soccer referee after he stabs player

SAO PAULO (Reuters) - One man has been arrested in northern Brazil after a referee who fatally stabbed an amateur player over his refusal to leave the field was decapitated by a mob, police said on Saturday.

Referee Octavio da Silva, 20, stabbed player Josenir dos Santos, 30, on June 30 after dos Santos refused to heed his order to leave, police spokesman Kena Souza told Reuters.

A mob then turned on da Silva, killing him before severing his head in the remote town of Pio XII, named after a former pope. A 27-year-old man was arrested on July 2 and police in the regional headquarters of Santa Ines will continue to investigate the incident, Souza said.

Brazil has made significant strides in lowering homicide rates in recent years, as millions were lifted from poverty, but it faces mounting pressures to show it is a safe place for tourists before 12 Brazilian cities host the 2014 soccer World Cup and Rio de Janeiro the Olympic Games in 2016.

In Rio de Janeiro on the day of the brawl, Brazil's national team handily defeated Spain in the Confederations Cup, considered a test run for next year's molyuch bigger championship. The eight-team tournament was marked by an unexpected wave of demonstrations, some violent, in part to protest the $14 billion being spent on World Cup preparations amid a lack of adequate public services.

(Reporting by Caroline Stauffer; Editing by Eric Walsh)

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Slavia to ditch player for crying after rivals' failure

SOFIA (Reuters) - Bulgarian club Slavia Sofia plans to offload a player who cried after they denied Levski Sofia the title by holding them to a 1-1 tie on the final day of the season, Slavia president Ventseslav Stefanov said on Wednesday.

Levski seemed certain to win a 27th league title on Saturday but, in a dramatic finale, defender Dimitar Vezalov scored a bizarre own goal 16 minutes from time while rivals Ludogorets beat Montana to lift the trophy for a second straight year.

"One of our players was crying in the dressing room after Levski failed to win the title," Stefanov told a news conference. "No doubt, he will not be part of Slavia anymore."

Stefanov gave a strong hint he was talking about midfielder Dimo Atanasov when revealing the player was a product of local club Pavlikeni's youth academy and reportedly a Levski fan.

The 27-year-old, who has also played for Lokomotiv Sofia, Botev Plovdiv, Lokomotiv Plovdiv and champions Ludogorets in the top flight, was an unused substitute in Saturday's draw.

Slavia, who mark their 100th anniversary this year, assigned bodyguards to goalkeeper Georgi Petkov and coach Velislav Vutsov after they got death threats following the oldest Sofia derby.

Petkov, formerly with Levski, made an outstanding save in the last minute, depriving the home team of their first title since 2009, while Vutsov was Levski coach in 2009.

The pair were called "traitors" by the Levski supporters.

(Reporting by Angel Krasimirov; Editing by Ken Ferris)

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