By Andrew Warshaw
October 21 – Brazilian police have detained six people following the death of a 21-year-old Palmeiras fan that has heaped more shame on the domestic game – the fourth fatality involving rival supporters this year.
The latest incident took place last weekend on a major highway just hours before the clash between Palmeiras and Santos. Police said the man who died was run over by a car after he and other Palmeiras fans tried to ambush two buses carrying Santos supporters. Authorities had to partially block the busy highway that links the coastal city of Santos to Sao Paulo.
Earlier this month, a fan of second-division club Avai died when a group of men threw rocks at the van he was travelling in. Another Palmeiras fan lost his life in August after being hit on the head with iron bars and chunks of wood in a clash with Corinthians supporters. And back in February, a Santos fan was beaten to death by Sao Paulo supporters at a bus stop after a match between the teams.
The fatal cases are the most serious in a spate of incidents of hooliganism across Brazil, hardly the best examples of a World Cup legacy.
The violence has prompted Brazil’s sports tribunal to order some clubs, including Corinthians and Cruzeiro, to play behind closed doors but it doesn’t seem to have had the desired effect. According to the sports newspaper Lance, more than 200 fans have been killed in violence since 1988.
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