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Football fans have been left stunned by images of Brazilian official Anderson Daronco, who has been dubbed the 'world's strongest referee'.
Pictures of Daronco have circulated on social media this week, leaving fans gobsmacked at the size of the 41-year-old referee from Santa Maria in the south of Brazil.
YouTube channel Soccer Stories – Oh My Goal claims that Daronco has 44cm biceps and is known in his home country as 'Juiz Fortao', which translates to 'Strong Judge'.
“If he gave you a yellow card, you wouldn’t f*** with his decision, you would just agree with him,” joked one user on Twitter.
Another wrote on YouTube: “No one is gonna mess up with this referee.”
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One image circulating on social media shows Brazil international Hulk, a player known for his size and strength, looking comparatively small when stood next to Daronco.
The referee, a former PE teacher, hit the headlines last week after he controversially decided not to award Peru a late equaliser in their World Cup qualifier against Uruguay.
Peru were trailing 1-0 in Montevideo on Thursday when Miguel Trauco’s shot was held on the line by Uruguay goalkeeper Sergio Rochet, who then took a step backwards into his goal while holding the ball at arm's length.
Daronco ruled that the whole of the ball had not crossed the line and chose not to review the incident with the video assistant referee (VAR).
Peru striker Paolo Guerrero claimed after the match his side had been “robbed” and the Peruvian FA (FPF) confirmed on Monday that it had lodged an official complaint against Daronco.
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“The FPF appreciates the spectacular support of the Peruvian fans in Montevideo and invites them to continue united with the conviction of reaching the great goal in these qualifiers,” read the statement.
“Likewise, the FPF informs that a forceful complaint was filed with FIFA last Friday regarding to the actions of referee Anderson Daronco, due to publicly known facts.
“The FPF expects a prompt response from FIFA under a regular channel in its procedures.”
Peru face Paraguay in their final World Cup qualifier on Wednesday and must win to guarantee fifth place and a spot in the inter-confederation play-offs in June.
Rory O'Callaghan