27-year-old Brazilian striker Dyego Sousa is out of the 2016/17 season of the Portuguese Championship and can only return to play an official match for Marítimo in August next year.
But the reason for the long period of inactivity is not due to an injury suffered by the striker, but for his discipline. Dyego was given a nine-month by the Disciplinary Board of the Portuguese Football Federation for attacking an assistant referee during a pre-season friendly against Tondela, also from the first division of Portugal, in July. According to the press, Dyego Sousa left the dugout after a foul was called against his team, threw a water-bottle against the linesman and then hit him with a punch. The Brazilian said back in July: “The newspapers exaggerated, they wrote things that are not true. I was wrong and I apologize to the refereeing team and to Marítimo. I did not hit the referee with a punch or a bottle of water.”
Dyego Sousa was first provisionally suspended for 30 days, and he returned to the games in September. He was in an excellent run of form, scoring five goals in the last six games he played. Dyego Souza is expected to appeal the suspension to try to return early to the pitch.
A native of Maranhão, Dyego has been playing abroad since 2010, when he left Operário de Ponta Grossa. Before reaching Marítimo in 2014, he played for Leixões, Tondela and Portimonense, all from Portugal, in addition to Angolan side Inter de Luanda. In the Primeira Liga last season, Dyego Sousa scored 12 goals and finished the competition as one of the top-ten goal-scorers. Since then, he was talking about the possibility of naturalizing to play for the national team of Portugal.
27-year-old Brazilian striker Dyego Sousa is out of the 2016/17 season of the Portuguese Championship and can only return to play an official match for Marítimo in August next year.
But the reason for the long period of inactivity is not due to an injury suffered by the striker, but for his discipline. Dyego was given a nine-month by the Disciplinary Board of the Portuguese Football Federation for attacking an assistant referee during a pre-season friendly against Tondela, also from the first division of Portugal, in July. According to the press, Dyego Sousa left the dugout after a foul was called against his team, threw a water-bottle against the linesman and then hit him with a punch. The Brazilian said back in July: “The newspapers exaggerated, they wrote things that are not true. I was wrong and I apologize to the refereeing team and to Marítimo. I did not hit the referee with a punch or a bottle of water.”
Dyego Sousa was first provisionally suspended for 30 days, and he returned to the games in September. He was in an excellent run of form, scoring five goals in the last six games he played. Dyego Souza is expected to appeal the suspension to try to return early to the pitch.
A native of Maranhão, Dyego has been playing abroad since 2010, when he left Operário de Ponta Grossa. Before reaching Marítimo in 2014, he played for Leixões, Tondela and Portimonense, all from Portugal, in addition to Angolan side Inter de Luanda. In the Primeira Liga last season, Dyego Sousa scored 12 goals and finished the competition as one of the top-ten goal-scorers. Since then, he was talking about the possibility of naturalizing to play for the national team of Portugal.
