A linesman in the Belgian top flight has become a laughing stock after his theatrical reaction to being struck by a missile during a match.
Assistant referee Michele Scatorchia was running the line during the match between Lierse and Zulte Waregem when he was struck by something thrown from the crowd.
Going down as if he'd been bullseyed by a sniper on the roof of the Herman Vanderpoortenstadion, Scatorchia's reaction sparked terror that something awful had happened among his fellow officials, the players on the pitch and almost all of the 8,500 fans present.
The referee blew the whistle to stop the match immediately, while several players rushed to the linesman's aid as he writhed in agony on the turf, holding his head in a manner to suggest that he was trying to stop his brains from spilling out.
Thankfully, Scatorchia was completely unharmed - an escape that seemed slightly less miraculous when it turned out that all he'd been hit by was a cardboard tray used for carrying coffee cups.
The charitable explanation is that the shock of being struck probably accounts for the official's extreme reaction.
But the baffled looks of the Lierse players say it all about a piece of playacting that comes sadly too late for Scatorchia to earn himself an Oscar nomination.
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