SAN JOSE, Costa Rica (AP) — Costa Rican national team coach Paulo Wanchope resigned Wednesday after he was involved in a fistfight at a match in Panama.
The Central American nation's soccer federation said in a statement that Wanchope had decided to "step aside" a day after the incident.
Wanchope was watching Costa Rica's under-23 team play a pre-Olympic match Tuesday night when the scuffle broke out.
Video of the incident shows Wanchope angrily opening a gate to the field and shoving a youth standing behind it, while apparently receiving a shove from a man standing beside the gate. Wanchope then turns and punches the man, who kicks and hits him before police intervene.
Local news reports indicated the coach was irritated at refereeing of the match, which ended in a scoreless draw.
Wanchope, who was at the stadium as an observer, approached the field several times to shout at officials that the match was fixed, said Ramon Cardoze, vice president of the Panama Soccer Federation.
Wanchope had a badge that apparently would have allowed him to go onto the pitch after play was over.
"He could go down at a certain point, but not in that aggressive way," Cardoze said.
Costa Rican newspaper La Nacion called the incident "shameful," while Prensa Libre called it "embarrassing."
Wanchope took over Costa Rica's team last year after a career as one of Central America's most famous forwards. He played for several years in the English Premier League and was a star on the national team.
Another CONCACAF side, Mexico, fired its national team coach Miguel Herrera last month for allegedly punching a television broadcaster.