Is this the most controversial goal of 2024? Chilean striker causes mass brawl

Chilean striker Eduardo Vargas scored a controversial goal against Bolivia after refusing to stop playing when the opposition goalkeeper was injured.

His team eventually suffered a surprise home defeat after Miguel Terceros helped Bolivia regain the lead in injury time at the end of the first half.

This gave them their first victory in Chile in their history and their first away win in a World Cup qualifier since 1993.

However, both teams are still not in the running for a place at the 2026 World Cup in the United States, Mexico and Canada. The away team has overtaken their rivals in the standings, with nine points from eight games.

But the match will forever be remembered for the way Chile equalised, an incident that immediately led to a violent brawl.

Chilean striker Eduardo Vargas scored a controversial goal against Bolivia after refusing to stop playing when the opposing goalkeeper was injured

His team eventually suffered a shock home defeat after Miguel Terceros helped the opposition regain the lead in injury time

But the international will forever be remembered for the way Chile scored the equaliser

Carlos Lampe receives the ball just outside his penalty area in the 39th minute, falls to the ground and immediately raises his arm to indicate he needs help from the bench.

Vargas, who is taking aim at the keeper, completely ignores this and runs towards the ball before walking it into the net.

The tension surrounding the equaliser was heightened by a wild celebration. The striker threw his arms in the air as the ball rolled in, forming a heart shape with his hands and showing it to the jubilant crowd.

This caused a huge row between both sets of players. First, Bolivian midfielder Robson Matheus runs towards Vargas and expresses his disapproval of the way he scored.

Paraguay referee Juan Gabriel Benitez struggles to contain the players’ emotions as players from both sides push and pull each other, while away goalkeeper Gabriel Arias sprints the length of the pitch to join the action.

Vargas celebrates again and seems to cheer as he runs away from the crowd, before returning to the fray to make his point once again.

Meanwhile, Lampe lies almost motionless on the grass and it was later determined that the goalkeeper had completely torn his right Achilles tendon, Infobae reports.

The Bolivian team said in a statement: “The surgery will be performed at the MEDS clinic in Santiago, Chile, in the late afternoon of Wednesday, September 11, to begin the recovery process immediately.”

The goalkeeper was then carried off the pitch on a stretcher, visibly emotional and with his head in his hands. The brawl continued.

The goal was allowed because Benitez saw no reason to commit a foul and the incident did not involve a head injury, so play was allowed to continue and Vargas was able to unhinderedly slot the ball into an open goal.

The equalizer caused a huge row between both groups of players

The goalkeeper was then carried off the pitch on a stretcher, visibly emotional with his head in his hands, as the brawl continued

Vargas may be familiar to some British spectators as the attacking striker once played for Queen’s Park Rangers

Immediately after the bizarre goal, Bolivia got redemption when Miguelito restored the lead with an exceptional move.

There had been discussions between the two captains, which some interpreted as a possible walk-in goal for the away side, but clearly no agreement was reached.

Vargas may be familiar to some British bystanders as the attacking striker once played for Queen’s Park Rangers, where he made 21 appearances and scored three goals.