By Andrew Warshaw
December 9 – With the glitz and glamour of the World Cup draw still fresh in the mind, Brazilian organisers have suffered a massive public relations blow after television pictures of scores of fans fighting running battles in a domestic championship match were flashed around the world.
Atletico Paranaense were trying to secure a spot in next year’s Copa Libertadores while Vasco da Gama, a four-time Brazilian champion, were hoping to avoid relegation. Paranaense won 5-1 to demote their famous Rio de Janeiro opponents.
The match was held in Joinville instead of Atletico’s usual home in Curitiba, a World Cup venue. Some reports said the switch of ground was because of the club being punished for a wave of fan violence earlier this year, others because Curitiba, which will stage a number of group games, was in the process of being revamped.
The incidents overshadowed the final day of the Brazilian championship during which Vasco’s equally iconic Rio de Janeiro neighbours Fluminense were also relegated.
“This is deplorable,” Vasco da Gama coach Adilson Batista said afterwards. “It’s sad to see images like these just before the World Cup in our country. I’m shocked, this is not sport.”
Television images showed players yelling to the fans to stop the fighting. “We tried to tell the fans to stop because things would only get worse. We looked at the stands and there were no cops. There was nobody there,” said Atletico Paranaense defender Luiz Alberto, who was seen in tears.
“I’ve been playing for 20 years and I’ve never seen anything like this in person. We will have a World Cup in our country and we know these images will be shown everywhere.”
One Atletico Paranaense supporter was caught in the middle of several Vasco da Gama fans and was seen to be struck several times before police arrived. TV images showed him motionless on the ground. “It’s hard to focus on playing football after seeing what we saw in the stands,” Vasco defender Chris said.
Reports suggested security was provided by a private company hired by Atletico Paranaense, with 80 guards initially on duty to make sure fans remained segregated until police had to intervene too.
Despite the country being synonymous with football, the violence will further dent Brazil’s image as World Cup hosts and is bound to raise even more security and safety concerns. During the long delay, which began after 15 minutes with the hosts leading 1-0, Paranaense coach Vagner Mancini said: “I just feel like going home right now.”
Sunday’s violence wasn’t the only piece of adverse publicity for the national game. Twenty-four hours earlier players threatened to go on strike because of the authorities refusing to negotiate a settlement on how to reduce the number of fixtures.
Players signed up with Common Sense FC, a pressure group set up to demand fewer top-class matches, accuse the Brazilian Football Confederation (CBF) of obstinacy and say the season, due to start in mid-January, will most likely be disrupted.
“We have insisted on looking for dialogue but the CBF has given no sign that any changes will occur,” the group said in a statement posted on their Facebook page. “Because no answers have been forthcoming and because of their unwillingness to guarantee improvements in Brazilian football, a strike is now imminent for the start of the 2014 season.”
The group of more than 1,000 league players, including dozens of internationals, said strike action would only be averted if the CBF changed the fixture list and agreed to implement a system to punish clubs that do not pay their players on time.
The group has also called for 30 days of close-season holidays and more representation on decision-making bodies such as clubs and federations.
They acknowledge there is little room for manoeuver in the forthcoming season because of the World Cup but want assurances now that changes will take place in the subsequent campaign.
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