A Libertadores Football Cup match in Calama, Chile was abandoned at halftime when the referee was hit by a coin thrown from the crowd as he left the field. Chile's Cobreloa and Paraguay's Olimpia, who kicked off the second-round first leg ties in South America's equivalent of the European Champions League, were level at 1-1 when referee Angel Sanchez fell to the ground after being struck. Sanchez, who was also involved in an abandoned game in his native Argentina last week, was taken to hospital in the mining town of Calama, situated at 2,600 metres above sea level in the Atacama desert of northern Chile.
"The match has been suspended because of an attack on the referee," said Alvaro Castro, the official observer for the South American Football Confederation (CSF).
He said the CSF would decide what to do about the game, the second leg of which is due to be played next week in Asuncion. Bureau Report