A youth football fixture in Brazil has made history for all the wrong reasons, after a remarkable incident left the referee with an unprecedented number of red cards to issue.

The match between Uberlândia and Mamoré, in the second division of the Campeonato Mineiro Under-20 competition, was supposed to be a semi-final encounter.

Instead, it became one of the most extraordinary disciplinary incidents football has seen, with players and coaching staff from both sides involved in a mass confrontation.

51 red cards issued after mass brawl in Brazil

The fixture ended with 51 dismissals, setting a new world record recognised by Guinness World Records.

The previous record stood at 36 red cards, following a match between Argentine sides Claypole and Victoriano Arenas in 2011.

According to reports from Brazil, 48 of the dismissals came after a mass brawl broke out in the closing stages of the match. The remaining three had been issued during normal play.

The confrontation began after Mamoré scored their third goal to secure a 3-1 victory. A celebration involving provocative gestures towards the opposition bench reportedly sparked the initial reaction, before the situation quickly escalated.

Players and members of both coaching teams became involved, with punches and kicks exchanged during the disorder.

The referee was unable to present every red card on the pitch because of the scale of the incident, instead recording the dismissals in his official match report.

Previous world record comfortably beaten

The 51 dismissals surpassed the previous benchmark by 15, making the incident an unprecedented moment in football history.

The earlier record was set in February 2011, when all 36 players involved in the Argentine fifth-division fixture between Claypole and Victoriano Arenas were sent off following a mass confrontation.

The latest incident in Brazil involved 22 dismissals for Uberlândia and 29 for Mamoré, according to reports.

While the result saw Mamoré claim a 3-1 victory in the first leg of the semi-final, the extraordinary scenes have ensured the football itself is unlikely to be the lasting talking point.

The match will instead be remembered for a record-breaking number of red cards and one of the most chaotic incidents in the history of the game.