Brazil police pepper spray footballer

Robson refused to leave the pitch when he was red-carded

A football match in Brazil was abandoned after police pepper sprayed a player who refused to leave the pitch after he was red-carded, reports say.

Genus defender Robson was dismissed after a poor tackle in Saturday's lower league match, which they were losing 3-0 to Moto Clube.

Police were called after he refused to leave and confronted the referee along with some teammates.

The Genus coach and seven players have resigned over the incident.

The brawl in the 64th minute of the match led riot police to enter the field with shields and batons, sports network ESPN reported.

They eventually used pepper spray as Robson resisted their attempts to remove him from the pitch.

The vice-governor of Rondonia state, in north-western Brazil, has launched an investigation.

"It's a shame what happened on Saturday... Football has to be played on the pitch with the players but, unfortunately, this brawl happened," Joao Cahula told EsporteAmazonia.com.

He vowed to punish the police officers involved if it was determined that they had over-reacted.

The match is due to be replayed.