A FOOTBALLER was left unconscious after flipping over in mid-air in distressing scenes.
Augustin Aquino went to head a ball in the final of the Dwarf Copa America tournament.
A Paraguayan dwarf footballer was knocked unconscious in worrying scenesCredit: YouTube/Comite Olímpico Paraguayo
Augustin Aquino landed head-first after flipping in the aerial challengeCredit: YouTube/Comite Olímpico Paraguayo
The Paraguay player remained unresponsive for several seconds as team-mates and opponents rushed to his side.
Emergency medical assistance was quickly summoned.
The sickening sequence of events occurred in an aerial challenge with Argentina’s captain Facundo Rojas in the final minutes of the game on Saturday and appeared to miscalculate his leap in the air.
Play was stopped for several minutes in the second half of the match at the Olympic Park sports complex in Luque near the Paraguayan capital Asuncion.
The crocked was stretched off with a neck brace after recovering consciousness.
He bizarrely appeared to be pleading for permission to be allowed to restart the game as he lifted his thumbs up to indicate he was okay.
Paraguay were crowned winners of the cup competition – held for the first time in 2018 with the aim of fighting social prejudice and discrimination against people with dwarfism – after beating Argentina 2-0 on penalties following a 4-4 full-time score.
Argentina had been crowned champions at the 2023 event in Buenos Aires.
That came after Paraguay’s decision to walk off the pitch just before half-time of the final.
were losing 3-1 at the time when they headed back to the changing rooms when a home team supporter spat on one of their players following a series of controversial refereeing decisions.
Agustin was among the players filmed celebrating yesterday’s cup triumph with a slap-up restaurant meal after getting back on his feet following what team-mates and spectators had feared at first would be a far worse injury.
He said in a post-match interview: “We are very proud to have achieved what we have and want to thank the whole of Paraguay for their support.”
He also shared a picture cuddling a trophy and wearing his winner’s medal while topless in bed, captioning the Instagram post: “Champions of America.”
, which was held in Argentina and featured teams from the USA, Brazil and Bolivia.
Ahead of the tournament, captain Efe Rojas said: “This Copa America is going to make history, it is the first tournament of this category worldwide, so we are very proud to organise it here in our country.”
In South America, it is known as the Copa America Talla Baja, which literally translates as Short Stature.
Cup matches are played on a hard indoor court with seven players on each team and each half is 20 minutes long.
Eze Chidiebere Paul
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