Bloody Brawl Breaks Out Between NYPD And FDNY At Charity Football Game

"There were a lot of hotheads there."

It wasn't these emergency service teams' finest hour.

Fists flew when the FDNY took on the NYPD in a family friendly charity football game in New York City on Saturday.

The "Fun City Bowl" fracas at MCU Park on Coney Island was caught on camera:

Two brawls broke out in quick succession after a police officer executed what onlookers labeled a "vicious" tackle on a firefighter during the final minutes of the game, the New York Post reports.

One firefighter was escorted away with blood dripping down his face.

"They hit our quarterback out of bounds, and that's how things started," said FDNY coach Steve Orr. "There were a lot of hotheads there."

Freelance photographer Angel Zayas filmed the entire incident.

"I think one of the FDNY guys exchanged words with the NYPD player and then from there, I couldn't see what was happening, I just saw the crowds come around the player," Zayas told NBC New York.

But the brawl ceased almost as quickly as it had started. "At the end, they were all talking, it was like water under the bridge," Zayas added.

The NYPD won the game 29-13. Police commissioner Bill Bratton did not allude to the fracas when he later congratulated his department's players in a Twitter post.

The NYPD did, however, acknowledge the incident in a statement the department later issued.

"Football is a competitive sport, whether it is the NFL Super Bowl or the annual NYPD-FDNY challenge. It is part of the spirit of the sport, but it all ends on the field," it said.

It's not the first time that sports teams from the two services have clashed.

Their hockey teams also brawled during a charity match at Nassau Coliseum on Long Island in 2014.

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