Altitude won’t protest the 3-0 loss to Verdes in San Ignacio on Sunday despite walk off after goalkeeper Oscar Palomino is allegedly hit by stone

Photo Credit: Altitude

By Rubén Morales Iglesias: Altitude said they will not protest the 3-0 loss to Verdes in San Ignacio on Sunday despite their walk off. The Premier League of Belize match was abandoned at the 89’ after Altitude goalkeeper Oscar Palomino was allegedly hit by a stone in the 83’ at the Norman Broaster Stadium.

After the match, Altitude issued a press release in which they say that Palomino “was allegedly struck behind his shoulder with a rock that was thrown on the field by spectators” and “for the safety of our players” they abandoned the match in the 89’ when “the match was basically over” with Verdes leading 3-0.

“There will be no protest launched by Altitude,” the statement said.

“However, we will be taking a very close look at video evidence, and we will be in full contact with the Premier League of Belize.”

With Verdes leading 3-0, the referee interrupted play when Palomino, seemingly writhing with pain on the pitch, called for assistance.

As the Altitude medic attended to Palomino, Altitude head coach Wilmer Garcia entered the field, approached the referee who was already in the goal area where Palomino was being attended to, motioned to the wall behind the goal, ran to it and picked up a stone about a palm wide. After rushing to the sideline, Garcia showed the assistant referee, motioning that the stone had been thrown at Palomino.

The assumption has been that the stone was thrown from outside the stadium because it hit Palomino, with his back to the goal, on to the left side of his back in the shoulder area.

Garcia said he rushed to Palomino because he was having a heart attack, but when he got there Palomino told him he had been hit by a stone. Garcia said that after Palomino was hit, a Verdes player picked up the stone and threw it off the marked area of the pitch, so he went to retrieve it to show the officials.

In the 86’, Altitude Manager Jordan Zabaneh called his team to the sideline. After some consultation, they decided to abandon the game “for the safety of our players” and walked to their locker room.

After the initial goal by Marco Antonio Zavala in the 2’, the match had been rather even until Nicolás Gómez made it 2-0 in the 48’ and Eldon Reneau put it out of reach in the 53’.