Football star is KNOCKED OUT by brutal challenge - but Russian boss says ref would only have given red card if he had DIED (VIDEO)

Former Russia manager Leonid Slutsky has said that Darko Jevtic would have "had to die" for the referee to have sent his opponent off after a horrific Russian Cup challenge that left the midfielder unconscious on the pitch.

Former Switzerland youth international Jevtic bled profusely after a gruesome challenge by Khabarovsk SKA striker Vladislav Bragin, receiving treatment for several minutes after he was smashed to the floor.

Rubin Kazan feared that the stricken star had suffered a brain hemorrhage when the 27-year-old collapsed as boss Leonid Slutsky attempted to replace him.

Despite Jevtic's injuries, Moscow referee Pavel Shadykhanov decided to only punish Bragin with a booking.

"According to the referee's view, the player would probably have had to have died on the pitch to justify his opponent being removed from the field," a baffled Slutsky told Sport24.

"In my opinion, when a football player breaks someone else's nose with his elbow, and a person simply loses consciousness from this blow...it was necessary, probably, to kill him for the referee to have made it a sending off.

"In my opinion, this is an unambiguous red card. I'm not trying to blame the referee for our defeat.

"But if we're talking about the episode with Yevtic, then that is a red card."

Shadykhanov did later produce a red card when he dismissed Grigori Trufanov in the 80th minute, but Rubin could not reply to the only goal of the game, which had been scored by their opponents five minutes earlier.

Slutsky had better news about Jevtic, who recently scored against reigning champions Zenit, following the Russian Cup match.

"We were afraid that there would be a cerebral hemorrhage but that did not happen, fortunately," he revealed.

"He has a broken nose and a very severe concussion. The doctors gave him permission to fly."