Portuguese player lands in court after kneeing referee in the face

A Portuguese footballer has been questioned by a magistrate a day after kneeing a referee in the face when he was shown a red card.

Video shows Marco Goncalves grabbing the referee two minutes into a game on Sunday in an official match of the Porto Football Association, a regional league.

The referee fell backward, his nose broken in three places, and police ran onto the pitch. The game was abandoned.

Goncalves was playing for Canelas 2010, an amateur club that other league teams refused to play against last season because of their players' allegedly violent conduct.

Goncalves appeared in court on Monday and was released pending further investigations.

Canelas 2010 said Goncalves would never play for the club again.

The Portuguese Football Federation said it would make sure the punishment sent a strong message.