Angel Di Maria Got Smashed NFL Style By Referee In Brutal Juventus Debut

Angel Di Maria's Juventus debut saw him get smashed into by the referee in a brutal collision.

The Bianconeri played their first game of pre-season on Saturday night, defeating Mexican side CD Guadalajara 2-0 at the Allegiant Stadium in Las Vegas.

Marco Da Graca and Mattia Compagnon grabbed the goals to give Max Allegri's side a winning start and there was plenty of excitement from Di Maria, who has signed on a free transfer after leaving Paris Saint-Germain.

But the Argentina international very nearly suffered a serious injury in his first appearance for his new club - and the culprit was none other than the referee.

The clash with referee almost injured Di Maria. 😶#JuveChivas 🏟️ pic.twitter.com/ChdzC4nTwT

— ARG Soccer News ™ 🇦🇷⚽📰 (@ARG_soccernews) July 23, 2022

The referee tackle on Angel Di Maria had me cackling pic.twitter.com/w9B67B1LqZ

— Eduardo Razo (@eddierazo_) July 23, 2022

The man in the middle could not get out of the way and his momentum took him right into Di Maria - accidentally smashing him into next week like it was an NFL tackle.

The slow motion replay shows just how bad the nasty clash, with the ref appearing to inadvertently strike Di Maria with his arm and both men ending up on the turf.

I swear to god only freak accidents like this shit happens to juve lmaoooo the referee just threw di Maria a heavy body check 😂😂😂😂😂 #juventus #JuveChivas #JuventusChivas #juve #JuveOnTheRoad

— Lu (@luicaruso) July 23, 2022

That referee fucked Di Maria up 🥴🥴🥴

— Endrick Lamàrt (@RappersRActors) July 23, 2022

#Juventus manager, Massimiliano #Allegri after the match regarding the Di Maria situation:

“I told the referee we were playing football, but I didn’t expect him to start playing American football and begin tackling our players.” pic.twitter.com/hDLpASimKh

— Salvatore Biscotti (@SalvatoreBisco4) July 23, 2022

Referee just smoked Di Maria in the center of the field.

— YankReport (@ReportYank) July 23, 2022

Can we show a yellow card to the referee? 😂 #JuveChivas #DiMaria https://t.co/Bbvc1HetQ0

— Jack Revuelta (@JackRevuelta1) July 23, 2022

Referee just flat lined Di Maria coming across the middle.

— Ahmed El-Sayed (@elsayedloud) July 23, 2022

Di maria was balling so much that the referee tackled him 🤣

— Diego (@kasadfsf) July 23, 2022

The incident happened in the 35th minute and fortunately Di Maria was able to continue. Juventus will have much tougher tests in pre-season in upcoming games against Barcelona, Real Madrid and Atletico Madrid.

“It was a good test. The team have worked hard in Turin and you can see the result on the pitch,” Allegri said in his press conference, as per Juventusnews24.

“We played well with good rhythm at times both in the first half and the second. I’m satisfied with the young players and our new signings, who have contributed well.

“Paul Pogba played a good game, but there’s still some aspect to work on.

“I Liked [Nicolo] Fagioli and also [Federico] Gatti, who did well in the first goal, even though he still needs to understand some defensive mechanism.”