A clearance by Uruguay Montevideo defender Richard Nuñez sent a football flying out of the stadium and onto a busy road during a Segunda División Profesional match against Paysandú, setting off a chain of car crashes that stopped traffic for 20 minutes.
The match was played Saturday at the Estadio Parque ANCAP. After a poor corner from Uruguay Montevideo, Paysandú won the ball in their own half and pushed forward on a counter-attack.
Nuñez raced over to clear the danger, but his kick sent the ball out of play, out of the stadium and onto a nearby road. Drivers slammed on their brakes as the ball flew in front of them, and several vehicles rear-ended each other in the resulting pile-up.
Video goes viral
The moment was captured on a live broadcast and quickly went viral, drawing mocking comments online. "A car slammed on the brakes to avoid hitting it and got rear-ended. Pure South American football," one user wrote on X. Another called it "one of the most crazy things I've ever seen," while a third joked, "Go explain to your boss that a wild clearance from the Uruguay Montevideo defender made you crash and that's why you were late."
Montevideo wins 1-0
Despite the chaos outside, Uruguay Montevideo held on for a 1-0 win in front of the home crowd, moving the club up to eighth place in the league.
