Brazilian striker learns the perils of minty fresh breath

Maybe he wanted to look cool, or maybe he has a frightening fear of halitosis, but Vasco da Gama striker Aloisio decided it would be a good idea to chew gum during a Brazilian second division match with Brasiliense on Tuesday night. His plan soon backfired, however, when he went up for an awkward aerial challenge, which left him unconscious and choking on his Wrigleys.

Fortunately, Vasco medics responded quickly:

“It was a very serious situation,” Vasco doctor Paulo Cesar Rocha said Wednesday. “Luckily, we identified the problem quickly and took the gum out to help him breathe again.”

After being whisked off in an ambulance (could you imagine an ambulance being allowed to drive on a Premier league pitch? The groundsmen would have kittens, and those kittens wouldn’t be allowed on the pitch) Alosio recovered in hospital, and has been barred from physical activity for a week as a precaution against his own stupidity.

[AP via Dirty Tackle]