The Corinthian spirit was sorely lacking during a charity football match between Scottish politicians and sports journalists which had to be abandoned after descending into a brawl, it has emerged.

The game, staged on Sunday morning at Lesser Hampden, in Glasgow, was marked from the start by what one politician who took part said were “meaty challenges and generally niggling incidents”.

These culminated in John Park, the Labour MSP and a key player in the party's Glenrothes by-election campaign, being sent off late in the first half for what was described as a “robust” challenge on Chick Young, the well-known BBC football pundit.

Half-time brought no respite in the ill feeling between the two sides and early in the second half the referee brought hostilities to an abrupt end.

His decision, which came after 55 minutes, with the score 6-2 for the politicians, was sparked after a Glasgow Labour councillor reportedly ran the length of the field and brought down a journalist. This triggered a general melee with some reports of punches being thrown by players on both sides.

Afterwards, according to sources, one politician who went into the opposition dressing to try to say “no hard feelings” was shown the door. A post-match lunch for the two sides turned into a rather one-sided affair when only one journalist turned up.

Last night a furious Mr Young said that he regarded the politicians as “thugs”. He added: “They were an absolute disgrace. It was really quite scandalous. I am still limping and I have stud marks on my leg. Their tackles were completely out of order.

“One guy playing at the back for them was a nutcase of the first order and their language to the ref was scandalous. They totally lost the plot.”

Mr Park said last night: “I put in a challenge on Chick Young and the ref said it was a bad tackle and I had better get off. I suppose it was a bit clumsy.”

On of Mr Park's team-mates said that the journalists had over-reacted. “I don't think there will be a return match,” he said.

A journalist who took part said: “The ref said he had never seen anything like it. It was totally embarrassing behaviour by the politicians.”

Labour's Ken Macintosh, one of the organisers of the MSPs' side, said both teams accepted the decision to call proceedings to a halt. “Normally it's our football that embarrasses, not our behaviour,” he said. “But in this case, it wasn't a terrific display. We're looking for a chance to redeem ourselves in the near future.”

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