Paulo Diogo


Paulo da Cruz Diogo is a retired Swiss professional footballer of Portuguese descent. He played almost his entire professional career in the Swiss first division.

Career

On 5 December 2004, playing for Servette FC in an away game against FC Schaffhausen, Diogo set up a goal for Jean Beausejour in the 87th minute of the game. By way of celebration, he jumped up on the metal perimeter fence separating the fans from the pitch. Unnoticed by him, his wedding ring caught in the barrier. As he jumped off the fence, much of his finger tore off along with the ring.
To add insult to injury, referee Florian Etter then penalized him with a yellow card for excessive time-wasting with his "celebrations". In fact, the match stewards were searching for his finger. Later that night, Diogo was taken to a Zürich hospital, but the doctors failed to re-attach the severed part of the finger and advised that the remaining part of his finger be amputated to the first joint. He has continued to play football since the accident. The event generated international commotion, and served as a warning of the danger of hanging on places or objects while using any type of ring, such as the wedding ring.
After being released by Sion, he signed for FC Schaffhausen on 28 January 2006.