Bolivia President KNEES Soccer Opponent: Evo Morales Strikes Player In Groin (VIDEO)

LA PAZ, Bolivia (AP) -- President Evo Morales kneed an opposing player in the groin during a soccer match against a team of political rivals after an apparent hard foul by the opponent, images of the altercation broadcast Monday show.

In video aired by local stations and posted to YouTube, the player is seen collapsing to the ground after Morales walks up to him and knees him during Sunday's game against a team led by La Paz Mayor Luis Revilla, a former Morales ally who turned against the president earlier this year

Witnesses said Sunday's bitterly fought game, whose final score was 4-4, ended with two players from each side being ejected.

Morales was not among those kicked out, but the player who fouled him was.
Members of Morales security contingent tried to arrest the player, Daniel Gustavo Cartagena, immediately after the match but Revilla interceded.

Word spread Monday about the on-field altercation after Morales mentioned it.

He said Cartagena came at him cleats-up when he had the ball, tearing the skin on his right leg. The president denied ordering Cartagena's arrest.

In a medical bulletin, the presidential palace said Morales received a laceration on the inside of the right leg and that three to four days of rest had been recommended for the president.
Morales went to work Monday as usual.

The popular leftist president, an ethnic Aymara and former coca-growers' union leader, was first elected in December 2005 and recently declared that he intends to run again in 2014.

WATCH:

Comments

[ivan kovac]

09:14 PM on 10/11/2010

This guy behaves like a bum. He can't be president.

[Whinger]

03:45 PM on 10/08/2010

There's nothing like a kick in the groin to show your friends how much you appreciate them!

[oneofthemasses]

12:11 AM on 10/08/2010

ALL you guys are way too funny!!...
Soccer is fun!

[jasev01]

03:59 PM on 10/07/2010

now thats a real president.  Did obama do that when joe wilson said you lie... nope he just stood there and took it like a __

[Atif Ahmed Choudhury]

11:25 PM on 10/06/2010

"For the first time in our history, the people who are running this continent look like the people who live in this continent" -President Kirchner of Argentina

The historic election of people like Evo really is a huge step forward for South America

[bluechevy]

11:40 AM on 10/07/2010

I don't care if Chavez looked just like me, that doesn't make him good. Same for this crooked "leftist" leader who apparently enjoys a good dirty shameful kick.

[Atif Ahmed Choudhury]

06:22 PM on 10/07/2010

Well I wasn't talking about Chavez (who has clearly become a narcissist afflicted with "savior's syndrome" and seems to be betraying the very socialist principles he ran on), but magnanimous yet humble indigenous leaders like Evo who are finally getting a chance to have a say in the running of their nation.

What you're missing from the picture about his "good dirty shameful kick", as is the case in so many "controversies", is some basic socio-political context. First of all, the two teams represent bitterly opposing political ideologies and socio-economic classes, so there was already a lot of tension. Furthermore, that particular player fouled him horribly, and likely also threw in some racial and ethnic slurs for good measure as a Materrazi-esque baiting tactic. I'm no fan of violence in sports, but I'm 110% sure he got what was coming.

Finally, Evo is as honest, transparent, and humble as any world leader gets (especially in the developing world), so if you still view him as a "crook" then you either have an astronomically high set of expectations about his governance...or you're simply just another partisan hack and/or an elitist and a racist against the indigenous campesinos.

[acaniseous]

03:19 PM on 10/06/2010

This video was edited by his opponents, it doesn't show what happened earlier in the game where that same player kicked and lacerated Evo's leg with his cleats.

If you ever watched soccer its almost expected that a player who is fouled in such a way get his revenge. Evo probably shouldn't have sunk to that opponents level, but its not like the guy didn't have it coming.
There is still a great deal of racism in all of South America against pure blood indigenous people. Evo's opponents are loving this as a tool to dehumanize him as a savage ect... Pathetic that those critics are mestizo yet deny their heritage and still cling to the Spanish colonial mentality.

[bluechevy]

11:41 AM on 10/07/2010

So you are defending this action? Its edited by his opponents. He just took a cheap shot at a guy. So you are saying that's okay.

[Cranmer1549]

12:41 PM on 10/06/2010

At least it's not North Korea. He would have been shot on site.

[Trapped Wind]

12:15 PM on 10/06/2010

A Bolivian Filibuster.

[life-of-riley]

10:21 AM on 10/06/2010

"Kick the ball, kick the ball"

"O.K.".

[PigsOnSoma]

09:24 AM on 10/06/2010

okie dokie... I wouldn't mind seeing international conflicts resolved in this manner.

[Berkeleylefty]

10:40 AM on 10/06/2010

I volunteer Kissinger!!

[PigsOnSoma]

10:50 AM on 10/06/2010

That is an excellent start. But we could go further and require all politicians to join a soccer club. I would love to see our Senators discuss health care while getting red carded. (Which would be a required 10 minutes of silence even if it means the decision can be finalized without you).

[drjasonmd]

08:24 PM on 10/06/2010

Excellent!

[StraferX]

07:27 AM on 10/06/2010

Now this is real ball.

[ExPatPoland]

04:33 AM on 10/06/2010

"Sports" Does HP actually have any real sports stories?

[lightningbolt]

10:44 AM on 10/06/2010

Soccer is a real sport.

[ExPatPoland]

01:11 PM on 10/06/2010

This is true, however I have yet to read very many stories that actually cover the sport they are headlining. I don't think nuttshots really count. It would be more accurate if this section was called something along the lines of "Sport related tabloids." Of course HP probably isn't the place for real sports news.

It does fit the stereotype that liberal types don't really enjoy sports and would rather just put down athletes. If that's what they are going for, then kudos to them.

[uniwarp]

04:04 AM on 10/06/2010

if you weren't going to say "there is democracy in bolivia" if the ref had shown him the red card, don't say "there isn't democracy in bolivia" because he didn't.

[Berkeleylefty]

10:41 AM on 10/06/2010

Do you want to "Red Card" a President? On the other hand... why not?

[Kap Hop]

03:35 AM on 10/06/2010

You kicked the left one!

[LEXngton]

03:28 AM on 10/06/2010

Don't mess with the cocoa growers!

[Sockme]

07:00 AM on 10/06/2010

coca

[mc chileanseabass]

08:12 AM on 10/06/2010

As long as the US continues to abuse Neslte Quick we will continue to see images likes this.