Referee Look-Alike Beaten, Unfortunately Not Frank Caliendo

We’ve all been there–a ref makes a horrible call and we’re out for murderous blood, even from our fellow fans. Some wouls say the target for our aggression shouldn’t be in the stands with us, but the with the ref instead; and we sort of agree with that. So, if you’re going to take that important step from crazed fan to felon, make sure you get the right guy.

Italian referee Mauro Bergonzi has been told to go into hiding by police after thugs tried to attack someone he looked like, the head of the country’s referees’ association has revealed.

“A group of people encircled someone they thought was a referee, they tried to abduct him and continually punch him. The only thing was he just looked like the referee…”

“He was a bank manager, poor thing, and he managed to reveal this at the end to save himself from more blows. On the advice of the police, the referee was forced to live under protection and went to another province for two weeks.

We think we’ve found a new contestant in the world’s craziest fans award. When the referees are scared to hit the streets… that’s pretty hardcore.
Italian referee goes into hiding [World Soccer]
Image [Reuters]