Assistant Referee Forced to Exit Game After Being Hit in the Face

Ero Samson

updated at July 11, 2023 at 12:02 PM

• An Assistant referee had to leave the USA Gold Cup quarter-final against Canada
• The Mexican official was hit by a ball in the face
• The ball was played by Canada's Kama Miller in the game's opening minutes

The CONCACAF Gold Cup witnessed a never seen before scenario, as an assistant referee had to exit the quarterfinal fixture between the USMNT and Canada after bleeding from the head, following a blast to the face during the match's opening minutes.

In quite an unusual circumstance, the official received a point-blank ball to the face and needed immediate medical attention. The incident stopped play for several minutes at Cincinnati's TQL Stadium.

The injury happened on a routine play on the USMNT's right wing. Kamal Miller, Canada's left back, blasted a ball out of bounds. The only problem, the Mexican official was just a few feet away from the powerful clearance.

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Football

As per reports from Marca, referee Espinosa got down to his knees before covering his face in front of cameras, as he seemed to be in pain and bleeding from his head.

Referee’s reaction to the incident

Marco Ortiz the match's official was forced to suspend gameplay so that Espinosa could be medically treated. The amount of time that it took to treat the linesman was subsequently added on as extra time at the end of the first half.

It remained unclear if the assistant referee fractured anything, though the bleeding hinted at a broken nose. Many were also of the opinion that Espinosa suffered a concussion from the blast.

Fox Sports eventually reported the good news that the referee was going to be ok.

The referee ended up leaving the game and was substituted by the 4th official from the Mexican official crew assigned to the USMNT vs Canada quarterfinal game.

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