Straight to the face! Women's soccer game turns into savage punching fest in Panama

A quarterfinal game in the Panamanian women's league is doing the rounds online after several players decided to stop kicking the ball to start a brutal fistfight with a couple of clean, straight punches to the face included.

Massive brawl in women's soccer game

The row started when Sporting San Miguelito defender Rebeca Espinosa sneakily kicked Stephany Toral from Plaza Amador. Toral didn't take the aggression well and, seeking revenge, responded with a destructive right hook into Espinosa's face.

But things didn't end there.

While everybody was trying to separate the players and complaining to the ref, Valentina Preciado, another Plaza Amador player, chose to escalate the conflict by punching Sporting San Miguelito forward Josuany Camos also in the face.

Estas son situaciones que no se pueden dar dentro de nuestro fútbol pic.twitter.com/ecgc0vjnoU

— LPF_TRUE (@lpf_true) June 7, 2023

Wowsie!

Eventually, the ref showed four red cards and things calmed down.

After the game, the players involved in the fight apologized for their behavior using their social media accounts.

"I did something wrong and I want to apologize," wrote Rebeca Espinosa, who kickstarted the fight. She apologized to both clubs, teammates and opponents and left a deep thought at the end of the message. "This can't happen again, mostly because kids should see in us an opportunity to help them become great athletes but also great persons."

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Una publicación compartida por Rebeca Espinosa (@rebequuita05)

Stephany Toral, the player who threw the first punch, also regretted the whole scene.

La jugadora del Plaza Amador a Stepfany Toral pide disculpas por las agresiones qué se dieron en cancha en el partido entre su equipo y Sporting por las semifinales de la @lffpanama ⚽ pic.twitter.com/MByzP1ihxa

— Giovanni Martinez (@ElGio507) June 8, 2023

"I can't go back in time to fix what I did, but I can apologize to my team, teammates and the fans because they deserve it," she said. "It was not my best reaction. The heat of the moment blinded me, so I'm sorry from the bottom of my heart. It would never happen again."