A player for Bolivian club Oriente Petrolero was forced to take a taxi after suffering a broken ankle during a match when the stadium's ambulance driver went missing.
Mario Cuellar suffered the injury in the 74th minute of the club's Sunday match against Guabira at Ramon "Tahuchi" Aguilera stadium, located in the city of Santa Cruz.
When Cuellar went down on the pitch, players from both sides beckoned for medical assistance. The player was then placed on a stretcher and carried to the ambulance at the end of the stadium, where apparently the vehicle was locked and the driver missing.
Television images showed Cuellar being carried on the stretcher through the venue's tunnels and onto the street where he was then placed in the back of a sport-utility vehicle taxi and driven to the hospital.
Oriente Petrolero confirmed Cuellar's injury in a statement, adding that he had underwent surgery and is expected to miss six months. Bolivia's football federation (FBF) stated that the home side -- in this case Oriente Petroleo -- is "obligated" to provide "all security and guarantees" for all those in attendance.
The director of Santa Cruz's municipal sporting services department said in Monday news conference that medical support, among other things, "are the responsibility of the clubs that organize the match."
Media reports in Santa Cruz said the club is looking at legal proceedings against the ambulance operater and the missing company. It is unclear where the driver was during Cuellar's injury.
