Peruvian cup final descends into fight

Peruvian football players descended into brawling during the first leg of the two-legged Peruvian cup final.

Fans cheered players from the hometown Leon de Huanuco team as they ran onto the pitch at Heraclio Tapia Stadium for the much-anticipated match with Universidad San Martin.

As Leon's Ronaile Calheira and Universidad's Cristian Ramos battled for the ball 33 minutes into the first half, the two players ended up fighting on the sideline, which soon ended up in a brawl.

Riot police broke up the fight and the referee sent off four players including Calheira, Ramos, Universidad's Heber Arriola and Leon's Gustavo Rodas.

Argentine forward German Allemano said fights muddy the name of football: "It does football no good for them to come running onto the field, for someone who is not on the field to slap Farro. These are things that shouldn't happen, that more than anything hurt Peruvian football. We want to lift it up but this pushes it down," he said.

But Universidad Coach Anibal Ruiz said the passion players have for the game sometimes spills out into fights. "One must understand and one must respect rivals, players, the people. Sometimes one goes overboard because of passion and passion of this sport is laudable," he said.

The match ended with a 1-1 draw. The second leg of the cup final will be played December 19.