Petulant player punches referee

A Russian futsal player has violently attacked a referee after being dismissed for lashing out and throwing the ball at the official.

The disgruntled player punched the referee to the ground after he was shown a straight red card for misconduct following an earlier incident.

The footballer was immediately surrounded by players, coaches and officials before walking off the court, but not before leaving the injured referee with a few choice words.

The official was then attended to with no reports suggesting he was seriously injured.

The ugly incident was sparked when the player thought he had won a free kick on the far side of the court.

Footage shows the player falling over after he was harassed by a number of defenders from the rival team.

However, the referee blew the other way, prompting the player to petulantly throw the ball at the whistler-blower and forcing him to reach for a red card.