A match between two teams from the International American Soccer Association ended in violence Saturday night.

It is a largely Hispanic soccer league, where passions and tempers run high, and Saturday someone had to call 9-1-1 to save the referee.

The notes from the 9-1-1 call really say it best. At 9:46 p.m. a caller stated there a Hispanic male with a knife chasing the referee.

Witnesses say it all started when fans of the team that was losing got out of hand. The referee reportedly got scared and declared the game over, enraging the losing team even more.

“They knew they were going to lose the game, and they started fighting,” fan Omar Monarrez said.

And that’s when the machete came out.

“One member of the audience went to his vehicle, got a machete, started swinging at people,” said Officer KR Simms of the Charlotte-Mecklenburg Police Department.

The next 9-1-1 note stated, “Referee is running from subject.”

“We tried to help, but there’s nothing we could do, because this guy’s got a knife,” Monarrez said.

The next note stated, “Referee is hiding in the woods.”

“That’s where we found him scared,” Simms said. “In fact he wouldn’t do anything but get in the back of a patrol car.”

The manager of Nevin Park, where the incident happened, says the league can continue playing there, but the team with the unruly fan is banned.

The referee escaped unharmed. The last 9-1-1 note stated, “Caller no longer sees subject – referee still hiding in the woods.”

Police say the suspect, Samuel Lopez, will only be arrested if one of the referee’s goes downtown to swear out a warrant and press charges.