Brazil’s football governing body must take a hard-line stand before the current situation devolves any further.
There’s a common saying amongst the Brazilians, “Os Ingleses criaram o futebol mas os Brasileiros o aperfeiçoaram,” which translates to “The English created football, but the Brazilians perfected it.” And with the results that the Brazilians have produced, it is hard to argue against it–5x World Cup winners, 2x Olympic Gold Medalists (back-to-back), and 4x winners of the now-defunct Confederations Cup.
Football just means more to Brazilians where stars are treated like royalty, and success can mean escaping the favelas. However, a concerning trend has been recently developing in the club scene, namely, the increase of threatening and intimidating behavior that has evolved into full-on assault.
Consider this. Just last week, Rafael Soriano, coach for Desportivo Ferroviaria, reacted violently during a match against Nova Venecia. He was angered ab0ut the way the first half had been officiated. Soriano stormed the field to argue with the officials. In the course of expressing his outrage, Soriano headbutted a female referee, Marcielly Netto.
Soriano vehemently denied the act, but the TV broadcast did not lie. So you would then expect him to issue an apology. Instead, Soriano threatened to sue Netto, accusing her of using her status as a woman for advantage.
Thankfully, Desportivo Ferroviaria fired Soriano, and he now faces a lengthy suspension. That said, if we take a longer view, what happened that night is yet another example of escalating violence in Brazilian football.
For example, earlier this year, a major derby match between two Porto Alegre clubs was called off after fans attacked the bus of the opposing team, Gremio. That team was making the cross-city trek to play rival Internacional when fans began throwing rocks. One rock, which was larger than a fist, shattered a window and struck midfielder Mathias Villasanti, who suffered facial lacerations, a cerebral concussion, and cranial trauma. In response, Gremio refused to contest the match, and the derby was called off. A similar incident occurred only days prior when another team’s bus, Bahia, was attacked as it was heading to its match against Sampaio Correa.
And an even more extreme example of violence occurred the same night as the Gremio bus attack. Upset over their club’s impending relegation, fans of the club Parana stormed the pitch. Videos captured fans punching players, who responded by kicking attackers to escape their rage.
Uncontrolled behavior has even spread to team mascots. The rooster mascot for top-club Atletico Mineiro was banned from a game because of “intimidatory behavior” against an opposing team after the mascot charged the field to keep opposing players from celebrating.
Even worse–and similar to what we’ve seen in Europe–Brazilian club players are receiving online death threats. Some threats target players’ family members.
Without a doubt, Brazilians are passionate about football. But over-the-top behavior detracts from high-quality play and worldwide respect for the Brazilian game. Instead, it puts reprehensible behavior in the spotlight.
What needs to be done? Brazil’s football governing body must take a hard-line stand before the current situation devolves any further.
