As well as being punished by sports authorities, the footballer who carried out the attack could face criminal prosecution.

Football fan Jose Maria Val reacted by saying: “This man can never play football again.”

Another commented: “Even one of his teammates (number two) raises his hands to his head.”

Jordi Guile wrote on social media: “If something like this happened when I was a lad playing football the police would have ended up going onto the pitch.”

Another football fan added: “They should ban him from football for life. This is something that could be reported to police.”

There has not yet been any official comment from the Catalan Football Federation or either of the two clubs involved.

In September footage from a Honduran top-flight game between Marathon and Olimpia went viral following a two-footed lunge that left two opponents injured.

Two players were left rolling in agony after Marathon star Andre Orellana’s horror tackle took them both out at the same time.

The 21-year-old was red-carded after the incident, which happened while he was trying to win a loose ball and not when the ball was nowhere near the player, as in the weekend incident in Girona.