The requisite generic futsal stock photo.
Futsal is like indoor soccer without the astroturf and hockey walls. Most soccer fans would say that it’s fun to play but not so much fun to watch, unless you’re really desperate to see some footie. This shocking news story out of Venezuela suggests that at least one person there takes this game way too seriously.
During a goal celebration at a municipal league match in the Táchira region, a man entered the court and shot the referee in the head three times. The referee, Timoleón Castillo, died of his wounds at a nearby hospital.
Details are sketchy as usual. The local media reports that the murderer had allegedly been involved in a heated verbal exchange with the referee moments earlier when he refused to allow a substitution. However, it seems pretty clear that this is either a case of a very unstable man who shouldn’t be carrying a firearm, or the whole thing was a pretext for a premeditated assassination for reasons that likely have nothing to do with the genteel sport of futsal. Let’s not all jump to the South American Futsal is Crazy (SAFIC) conclusion.
Hopefully for the sake of Castillo’s family, police will actually do a thorough investigation and be able to determine the real cause of the killing. Meanwhile, let’s get some metal detectors installed at the gymnasium.
