Hooligans Strip Player's Shirt, Shorts during Play

A player was assaulted by hooligans and stripped of his shirt and shorts during a match in an Argentine lower-tier club match.

The Argentine newspaper Clarin captured on video the incident in which Elias Di Biasi, a midfielder for Deportivo Italiano — playing in what amounts to Argentina's fourth division — was stripped of his shirt and shorts and left standing in his underwear.

"At the beginning I was going to try to fend them off, but there were three of them." Di Biasi said.

The attack took place on Wednesday in about the 60th minute of the match against Villa San Carlos, with Deportivo losing 3-0.

Several hooligans wearing hoods raced across the field after the incident, taunting the victim, and climbing back into the seating area.

Di Biasi was given another green and white shirt and white shorts to continue the match, which was delayed for several minutes.

This is believed to be the first incident of its type in Argentina, though players have been stripped of their uniforms after the match by angry hooligans swarming across the field.

Police did not report any arrests, and a few hundred fans watching seemed entertained by the incident, not angered.

Football violence is endemic in Argentina with matches routinely interrupted by hooligans — invading the field, fighting in the stands or outside the stadium. Lack of action by the Argentine Football Association has been blamed for the violence, which it says is a societal problem.