Sao Paulo’s William Ribeiro attacked the referee after he was fouled during a league match away to Guarani on Monday.
The match was stopped 14 minutes after the start of the second half, while referee Rodrigo Crivelaro was taken to hospital. He was later released.
“I decided… to charge the boy with attempted murder because in my view of the case, he risked a fatal outcome,” the officer in charge of the case told Brazil’s UOL portal.
The attack took place on the 113th anniversary of the founding of the Sao Paulo Athletic Club, Reuters reported.
The club described the incident as “the saddest in its history” and said it had sent Ribeiro out without trial and was considering what other measures it might take.
The small club from Rio Grande, a city of about 200,000 people approximately 320 kilometers south of the state capital Porto Alegre, plays in the second division of the Rio Grande do Sul State Championship.
The National Football Association said Monday’s match was suspended and resumed a day later, with Guarani winning 1-0.