During a soccer match between teams of political rivals in Bolivia, the countryÂ’s president, Evo Morales, was caught on tape delivering a swift knee to an opponentÂ’s groin in retaliation for a hard foul.As Rory Carroll reported for The Guardian, the incident took place on Sunday in the Bolivian capital, La Paz, as the presidentÂ’s men took on a team led by the cityÂ’s mayor, Luis Revilla.
Mr. Revilla is a former ally of the president who defected from the governing Movement Toward Socialism, known by its Spanish acronym, MAS, to the opposition Movement Without Fear, or MSM.
The Bolivian newspaper La Razón reported that one of the president’s bodyguards then tried to reinforce his boss’s message to Mr. Cartagena.
The president somehow escaped a red card and went on to score a goal, but his bodyguard and Mr. Cartagena were sent off for fighting.
At the end of the bad-tempered 4-4 draw, the mayor intervened and convinced police officers not to arrest Mr. Cartagena.
It's a trivial vignette, yet it provides some insight into Morales and the nature of the regime.