Papa Francisca, a new Argentine football team named after the current pontiff with the intention of promoting a culture of non-violence in its region of Lujan, saw two players from each team sent off in their very first match.
The team, founded by Pope admirer Jorge Ramirez, was set up after the city's archbishop Cardinal Jorge Bergoglio - himself a big San Lorenzo fan - was named Pope and has a motto of "no hooligans, no violence and no insults", though you would have been forgiven for questioning this sentiment if you had viewed the team's inaugural match, a 2-2 draw.
'The Saint of the South', as their nickname decrees, proved anything but saintly in the hard-fought game, as only 18 players walked off the field at the end of the game.
Violence is a big part of Argentine football and it has more than its fair share of hooligan groups, known locally as "barras bravas", and the Argentine FA has been heavily criticised for failing to stamp them out.
Source: smg.com.au
