Ah.. Brazillian football.

[SirFozzie]

RIO DE JANEIRO, March 14 (Reuters) - A Brazilian referee said he had no regrets after punching a fan who ran onto the field to attack him during a derby match on Sunday.

Television pictures showed that Luiz Carlos Silva landed several punches at the shirtless supporter who invaded the field in injury time of Sunday's America-Atletico Mineiro derby in Belo Horizonte.

'Everything I did yesterday, I did conscientiously and I would do it again,' Silva told Brazilian media on Monday. 'I'm a self-employed worker and if that guy had landed a punch, I could have been off work when I've got five children to raise.'

'I had to defend myself and I did it by going onto the attack.

'If I had run away, it would have looked bad. I was not prepared to suffer this embarrassment with my children watching (on the television).'

The incident sparked a five-minute brawl as Atletico Mineiro players tried to protect the supporter from the police.

Atletico goalkeeper Danrlei accused police of attacking him as he tried to intervene.

The match was in the Mineiro (Minas Gerais state) championship, one of the many regional tournaments which kick off the Brazilian season. America won 1-0 in a game which also produced three red cards.

Meanwhile, Atletico launched another protest against refereeing in the competition and repeated demands for referees from outside Minas Gerais state to officiate their games.

[SirFozzie]

Ah.. Euro football too.

Chelsea manager Jose Mourinho has promised to take legal action against UEFA referees' chief Volker Roth unless he retracts the claim that Chelsea's manager is 'an enemy of football'.

Roth spoke out in the wake of Swedish referee Anders Frisk's decision to leave football behind after a series of threats made against himself and his family.

Roth, a German, is chairman of UEFA's referees committee and directed his criticism not only towards Mourinho but to all managers who make inflammatory remarks which could provoke public hostility.

'With regards to the declarations from Mr Roth, there's two ways out: he apologises or it goes to court,' said Mourinho, in a statement delivered to the Portuguese press.

Mourinho was critical of Frisk's performance in Chelsea's visit to Barcelona last month, and accused the referee of speaking with home boss Frank Rijkaard during the half-time break.

'It's a shame that Frisk has decided to leave football,' added Mourinho.

'If, as some people have suggested, this decision is linked to the criticism of his performance in the Barcelona game, it seems strange to me.

'There's similar criticism every day, all around the world, for managers, directors and players. It's a normal situation.'