Corinthians lose again, have three sent off

Corinthians had three players sent off as they lost 1-0 to Sao Caetano in the Paulista championship, their second defeat in five days against lesser-rated opponents.

There was also trouble as Botafogo won 1-0 at Cabofriense in the Carioca championship, where the hosts had a late equaliser disallowed amid ugly scenes.

Beaten 2-1 by modest Ituano on Saturday, Corinthians's troubles began in the 24th minute with a bizarre incident involving midfielder Marcelo Mattos.

With two balls on the field, Mattos kicked the dead ball away and immediately collected a pass with the live one. The referee stopped play, Mattos hoofed the official ball away in disgust and was given a second yellow card.

Midfielder Roger followed for a second bookable offence in the 83rd minute and central defender Betao followed in injury-time for a wild kick at Luiz Henrique.

Striker Dodo scored to give Botafogo their first win in Rio de Janeiro's Carioca championship after a stormy ending. Cabofriense had the ball in the net in the 83rd minute, the referee initially signalled the goal and was surrounded by protesting Botafogo players.

However, after consulting with a linesman, the referee disallowed the goal and was surrounded by protesting Cabofriense players.

Police, cameramen and reporters also came onto the field and play was held up for six minutes while the linesman was hit by objects thrown by supporters.