DARWIN NUNEZ threw a chair towards fans following Uruguay’s Copa America exit at the hands of Colombia.
The Liverpool striker was seen on video appearing to lob a foldable stool towards Colombia fans inside the Bank of America stadium.
Uruguay bowed out of the competition after a tightly fought 1-0 defeat to the Colombians.
But ugly scenes followed in the immediate aftermath with fans, players and their families clashing in the stands.
During the scary encounters, Nunez was filmed charging towards the Colombian fans with a foldable chair in his hand.
And the 25-year-old then looked as though he was going to throw the chair into the crowd, but was unable to chuck it into the stands thanks to the intervention of a nearby security guard.
The fortunate steps from the staff member made sure nobody was hurt during the interaction and the chair slammed into the side of the stands instead.
Other photos and footage showed Nunez leaping into the crowd to protect his family from “drunken” fans.
The striker and a number of his teammates waded through the seats in the stands to protect their loved ones from flying drinks and other projectiles.
Security eventually intervened and separated Nunez, Jose Gimenez and Ronald Araujo from the rival fans.
Nunez could later be seen consoling his young son on the pitch afterwards.
Atletico Madrid defender Giminez fumed at the lack of security around the players’ family members in an explosive post-match interview.
He said: “Let me say something before they cut you off because they won’t let us speak into the microphone.
“They don’t want me to say anything about what’s going on but this is a disaster.
“Please be careful, our families are in the stands, there are little newborn babies.
“It was a disaster; there was no police and we had to defend our families.
“This is the fault of two or three people who had a few too many drinks and don’t know how to drink.”
While the Conmebol federation released a statement condemning the actions.
It read: “Conmebol strongly condemns any act of violence that affects football.
“Our work is based on the conviction that football connects us and unites us, through its positive values.
“There is no place for intolerance and violence on and off the field.
“We invite everyone in the remaining days to pour all their passion into cheering on their teams and having an unforgettable party.”
